Maximal brain size remains an important predictor of cognition in old age, independent of current brain pathology

Abstract There is growing interest in the influence of early-life development on clinical manifestations of late-life diseases. Latent variable modeling was used to investigate how maximal brain volume (measured by intracranial volume [ICV]) and current brain volumes uniquely contribute to domain-sp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurobiology of aging 2012-08, Vol.33 (8), p.1758-1768
Main Authors: Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski, Mungas, Dan, Reed, Bruce, Carmichael, Owen, Beckett, Laurel, Harvey, Danielle, Olichney, John, Simmons, Amanda, DeCarli, Charles
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged - physiology
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Atrophy
Brain - anatomy & histology
Brain - physiology
Brain injury
Cognition
Cognition - physiology
Cognitive ability
Cognitive impairment
Cognitive reserve
Cognitive Reserve - physiology
Ethnic groups
Executive function
Female
Geriatrics
Hippocampus
Humans
Internal Medicine
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Memory
Middle Aged
MRI
Nervous system
Neurology
Organ Size - physiology
Semantics
Statistics as Topic
Substantia alba
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Summary:Abstract There is growing interest in the influence of early-life development on clinical manifestations of late-life diseases. Latent variable modeling was used to investigate how maximal brain volume (measured by intracranial volume [ICV]) and current brain volumes uniquely contribute to domain-specific cognitive performance in a group of 401 cognitively and ethnically diverse older adults. Individual effects of volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures including ICV were examined as predictors of episodic memory, semantic memory, spatial ability, and executive function. Total brain matter volume related to all cognitive domains; hippocampal volume was associated primarily with episodic memory; white matter hyperintensity volume was related to executive function and episodic memory. Maximal brain size as measured by ICV was related to semantic memory, executive function, and spatial ability independent of current brain volumes ( p s < 0.01). Relationships between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) variables and cognition did not differ substantially across groups defined by ethnicity, gender, and with minor exceptions, clinical diagnosis. Results suggest maximal brain development and measures of brain injury/atrophy jointly contribute to cognitive function in older people.
ISSN:0197-4580
1558-1497
DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.03.017