Individualized mapping of functional brain networks in older adulthood

The functional network architecture of the aging brain undergoes significant systematic and idiosyncratic changes. Emergent individualized network mapping approaches may yield better or more sensitive explanatory insight about age-related neural and behavioral variability, although most applications have focused on young adults. In the current study, we tested the validity and impact of mapping individual-specific topography in two fMRI datasets comprising 112 young (18-35 years) and 176 older adults (60-92 years). Older adults had more idiosyncratic network topography than young adults. Individualized maps from resting-state fMRI improved network homogeneity and fidelity to social cognitive task fMRI activations and exhibited intra-individual stability and inter-individual discriminability over a 2-year interval. Last, traditional group-averaged (vs. individualized) network mapping had a moderate-to-large impact on individual-level estimates of network segregation, a widely-studied measure of functional brain aging. Therefore, individualized network mapping captures important heterogeneity in older adulthood and may yield more precise characterization of neurocognitive aging.