The physiological basis underlying functional connectivity differences in older adults: A multi-modal analysis of resting-state fMRI

The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in functional connectivity strength (FCS) with age were confounded by vascular parameters including resting cerebral blood flow (CBF 0 ), cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), and BOLD-CBF coupling. Neuroimaging data were collected from 13 younge...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain imaging and behavior 2022-08, Vol.16 (4), p.1575-1591
Main Authors: Champagne, Allen A., Coverdale, Nicole S., Allen, Matti D., Tremblay, Joshua C., MacPherson, Rebecca E. K., Pyke, Kyra E., Olver, T. Dylan, Cook, Douglas J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Aging
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Blood flow
Brain mapping
Cerebral blood flow
Coupling
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Independent component analysis
Mathematical models
Medical imaging
Modal analysis
Neural networks
Neuroimaging
Neuropsychology
Neuroradiology
Neurosciences
Older people
Original Research
Parameters
Physiology
Psychiatry
Spin labeling
Statistical models
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in functional connectivity strength (FCS) with age were confounded by vascular parameters including resting cerebral blood flow (CBF 0 ), cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), and BOLD-CBF coupling. Neuroimaging data were collected from 13 younger adults (24 ± 2 years) and 14 older adults (71 ± 4 years). A dual-echo resting state pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling sequence was performed, as well as a BOLD breath-hold protocol. A group independent component analysis was used to identify networks, which were amalgamated into a region of interest (ROI). Within the ROI, FC strength (FCS) was computed for all voxels and compared across the groups. CBF 0 , CVR and BOLD-CBF coupling were examined within voxels where FCS was different between young and older adults. FCS was greater in old compared to young ( P  = 0.001). When the effect of CBF 0 , CVR and BOLD-CBF coupling on FCS was examined, BOLD-CBF coupling had a significant effect ( P  = 0.003) and group differences in FCS were not present once all vascular parameters were considered in the statistical model ( P  = 0.07). These findings indicate that future studies of FCS should consider vascular physiological markers in order to improve our understanding of aging processes on brain connectivity.
ISSN:1931-7557
1931-7565
DOI:10.1007/s11682-021-00570-0