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Wen X, Zhao Y, Chen G, Zhang H, Zhang D. Constructing fine-grained spatiotemporal neonatal functional atlases with spectral functional network learning. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26718. [PMID: 38825985 PMCID: PMC11144955 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The early stages of human development are increasingly acknowledged as pivotal in laying the groundwork for subsequent behavioral and cognitive development. Spatiotemporal (4D) brain functional atlases are important in elucidating the development of human brain functions. However, the scarcity of such atlases for early life stages stems from two primary challenges: (1) the significant noise in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that complicates the generation of high-quality atlases for each age group, and (2) the rapid and complex changes in the early human brain that hinder the maintenance of temporal consistency in 4D atlases. This study tackles these challenges by integrating low-rank tensor learning with spectral embedding, thereby proposing a novel, data-driven 4D functional atlas generation framework based on spectral functional network learning (SFNL). This method utilizes low-rank tensor learning to capture common functional connectivity (FC) patterns across different ages, thus optimizing FCs for each age group to improve the temporal consistency of functional networks. Incorporating spectral embedding aids in mitigating potential noise in FC networks derived from fMRI data by reconstructing networks in the spectral space. Utilizing SFNL-generated functional networks enables the creation of consistent and highly qualified spatiotemporal functional atlases. The framework was applied to the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) dataset, generating the first neonatal 4D functional atlases with fine-grained temporal and spatial resolutions. Experimental evaluations focusing on functional homogeneity, reliability, and temporal consistency demonstrated the superiority of our framework compared to existing methods for constructing 4D atlases. Additionally, network analysis experiments, including individual identification, functional systems development, and local efficiency assessments, further corroborate the efficacy and robustness of the generated atlases. The 4D atlases and related codes will be made publicly accessible (https://github.com/zhaoyunxi/neonate-atlases).
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuyun Wen
- College of Computer Science and TechnologyNanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsNanjingChina
| | - Yunxi Zhao
- College of Computer Science and TechnologyNanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsNanjingChina
| | - Geng Chen
- School of Computer ScienceNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityShanxiChina
| | - Han Zhang
- School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Daoqiang Zhang
- College of Computer Science and TechnologyNanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsNanjingChina
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2
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Sorooshyari SK. Brain age monotonicity and functional connectivity differences of healthy subjects. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300720. [PMID: 38814972 PMCID: PMC11139261 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Alterations in the brain's connectivity or the interactions among brain regions have been studied with the aid of resting state (rs)fMRI data attained from large numbers of healthy subjects of various demographics. This has been instrumental in providing insight into how a phenotype as fundamental as age affects the brain. Although machine learning (ML) techniques have already been deployed in such studies, novel questions are investigated in this work. We study whether young brains develop properties that progressively resemble those of aged brains, and if the aging dynamics of older brains provide information about the aging trajectory in young subjects. The degree of a prospective monotonic relationship will be quantified, and hypotheses of brain aging trajectories will be tested via ML. Furthermore, the degree of functional connectivity across the age spectrum of three datasets will be compared at a population level and across sexes. The findings scrutinize similarities and differences among the male and female subjects at greater detail than previously performed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siamak K. Sorooshyari
- Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
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3
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Petersen SE, Seitzman BA, Nelson SM, Wig GS, Gordon EM. Principles of cortical areas and their implications for neuroimaging. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00355-6. [PMID: 38834069 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Cortical organization should constrain the study of how the brain performs behavior and cognition. A fundamental concept in cortical organization is that of arealization: that the cortex is parceled into discrete areas. In part one of this report, we review how non-human animal studies have illuminated principles of cortical arealization by revealing: (1) what defines a cortical area, (2) how cortical areas are formed, (3) how cortical areas interact with one another, and (4) what "computations" or "functions" areas perform. In part two, we discuss how these principles apply to neuroimaging research. In doing so, we highlight several examples where the commonly accepted interpretation of neuroimaging observations requires assumptions that violate the principles of arealization, including nonstationary areas that move on short time scales, large-scale gradients as organizing features, and cortical areas with singular functionality that perfectly map psychological constructs. Our belief is that principles of neurobiology should strongly guide the nature of computational explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven E Petersen
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Benjamin A Seitzman
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Steven M Nelson
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Gagan S Wig
- Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Evan M Gordon
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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4
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Li X, Ng KK, Wong JJY, Zhou JH, Yow WQ. Brain gray matter morphometry relates to onset age of bilingualism and theory of mind in young and older adults. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3193. [PMID: 38326334 PMCID: PMC10850089 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48710-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Lifelong bilingualism may result in neural reserve against decline not only in the general cognitive domain, but also in social cognitive functioning. In this study, we show the brain structural correlates that are associated with second language age of acquisition (L2AoA) and theory of mind (the ability to reason about mental states) in normal aging. Participants were bilingual adults (46 young, 50 older) who completed a theory-of-mind task battery, a language background questionnaire, and an anatomical MRI scan to obtain cortical morphometric features (i.e., gray matter volume, thickness, and surface area). Findings indicated a theory-of-mind decline in older adults compared to young adults, controlling for education and general cognition. Importantly, earlier L2AoA and better theory-of-mind performance were associated with larger volume, higher thickness, and larger surface area in the bilateral temporal, medial temporal, superior parietal, and prefrontal brain regions. These regions are likely to be involved in mental representations, language, and cognitive control. The morphometric association with L2AoA in young and older adults were comparable, but its association with theory of mind was stronger in older adults than young adults. The results demonstrate that early bilingual acquisition may provide protective benefits to intact theory-of-mind abilities against normal age-related declines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqian Li
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kwun Kei Ng
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition & Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Joey Ju Yu Wong
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition & Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Juan Helen Zhou
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition & Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - W Quin Yow
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, Singapore.
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5
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Myers MJ, Labonte AK, Gordon EM, Laumann TO, Tu JC, Wheelock MD, Nielsen AN, Schwarzlose RF, Camacho MC, Alexopoulos D, Warner BB, Raghuraman N, Luby JL, Barch DM, Fair DA, Petersen SE, Rogers CE, Smyser CD, Sylvester CM. Functional parcellation of the neonatal cortical surface. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae047. [PMID: 38372292 PMCID: PMC10875653 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex is organized into distinct but interconnected cortical areas, which can be defined by abrupt differences in patterns of resting state functional connectivity (FC) across the cortical surface. Such parcellations of the cortex have been derived in adults and older infants, but there is no widely used surface parcellation available for the neonatal brain. Here, we first demonstrate that existing parcellations, including surface-based parcels derived from older samples as well as volume-based neonatal parcels, are a poor fit for neonatal surface data. We next derive a set of 283 cortical surface parcels from a sample of n = 261 neonates. These parcels have highly homogenous FC patterns and are validated using three external neonatal datasets. The Infomap algorithm is used to assign functional network identities to each parcel, and derived networks are consistent with prior work in neonates. The proposed parcellation may represent neonatal cortical areas and provides a powerful tool for neonatal neuroimaging studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Myers
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Alyssa K Labonte
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Evan M Gordon
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Timothy O Laumann
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Jiaxin C Tu
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Ashley N Nielsen
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Rebecca F Schwarzlose
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - M Catalina Camacho
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Dimitrios Alexopoulos
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Barbara B Warner
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Nandini Raghuraman
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Joan L Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Damien A Fair
- Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, United States
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, United States
| | - Steven E Petersen
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Cynthia E Rogers
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Christopher D Smyser
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Chad M Sylvester
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
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6
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Han L, Chan MY, Agres PF, Winter-Nelson E, Zhang Z, Wig GS. Measures of resting-state brain network segregation and integration vary in relation to data quantity: implications for within and between subject comparisons of functional brain network organization. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad506. [PMID: 38385891 PMCID: PMC10883417 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Measures of functional brain network segregation and integration vary with an individual's age, cognitive ability, and health status. Based on these relationships, these measures are frequently examined to study and quantify large-scale patterns of network organization in both basic and applied research settings. However, there is limited information on the stability and reliability of the network measures as applied to functional time-series; these measurement properties are critical to understand if the measures are to be used for individualized characterization of brain networks. We examine measurement reliability using several human datasets (Midnight Scan Club and Human Connectome Project [both Young Adult and Aging]). These datasets include participants with multiple scanning sessions, and collectively include individuals spanning a broad age range of the adult lifespan. The measurement and reliability of measures of resting-state network segregation and integration vary in relation to data quantity for a given participant's scan session; notably, both properties asymptote when estimated using adequate amounts of clean data. We demonstrate how this source of variability can systematically bias interpretation of differences and changes in brain network organization if appropriate safeguards are not included. These observations have important implications for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and interventional comparisons of functional brain network organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Han
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, United States
| | - Micaela Y Chan
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, United States
| | - Phillip F Agres
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, United States
| | - Ezra Winter-Nelson
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, United States
| | - Ziwei Zhang
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, United States
| | - Gagan S Wig
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States
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7
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Khalilian M, Toba MN, Roussel M, Tasseel-Ponche S, Godefroy O, Aarabi A. Age-related differences in structural and resting-state functional brain network organization across the adult lifespan: A cross-sectional study. AGING BRAIN 2024; 5:100105. [PMID: 38273866 PMCID: PMC10809105 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2023.100105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
We investigated age-related trends in the topology and hierarchical organization of brain structural and functional networks using diffusion-weighted imaging and resting-state fMRI data from a large cohort of healthy aging adults. At the cross-modal level, we explored age-related patterns in the RC involvement of different functional subsystems using a high-resolution functional parcellation. We further assessed age-related differences in the structure-function coupling as well as the network vulnerability to damage to rich club connectivity. Regardless of age, the structural and functional brain networks exhibited a rich club organization and small-world topology. In older individuals, we observed reduced integration and segregation within the frontal-occipital regions and the cerebellum along the brain's medial axis. Additionally, functional brain networks displayed decreased integration and increased segregation in the prefrontal, centrotemporal, and occipital regions, and the cerebellum. In older subjects, structural networks also exhibited decreased within-network and increased between-network RC connectivity. Furthermore, both within-network and between-network RC connectivity decreased in functional networks with age. An age-related decline in structure-function coupling was observed within sensory-motor, cognitive, and subcortical networks. The structural network exhibited greater vulnerability to damage to RC connectivity within the language-auditory, visual, and subcortical networks. Similarly, for functional networks, increased vulnerability was observed with damage to RC connectivity in the cerebellum, language-auditory, and sensory-motor networks. Overall, the network vulnerability decreased significantly in subjects older than 70 in both networks. Our findings underscore significant age-related differences in both brain functional and structural RC connectivity, with distinct patterns observed across the adult lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maedeh Khalilian
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroscience and Pathologies (UR UPJV 4559), University Research Center (CURS), University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Monica N. Toba
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroscience and Pathologies (UR UPJV 4559), University Research Center (CURS), University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Martine Roussel
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroscience and Pathologies (UR UPJV 4559), University Research Center (CURS), University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Sophie Tasseel-Ponche
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroscience and Pathologies (UR UPJV 4559), University Research Center (CURS), University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
- Neurological Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Amiens University Hospital, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Olivier Godefroy
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroscience and Pathologies (UR UPJV 4559), University Research Center (CURS), University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
- Neurology Department, Amiens University Hospital, Amiens, France
| | - Ardalan Aarabi
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroscience and Pathologies (UR UPJV 4559), University Research Center (CURS), University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
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8
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Zhang Z, Chan MY, Han L, Carreno CA, Winter-Nelson E, Wig GS. Dissociable Effects of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Cognitive Dysfunction and Aging on Functional Brain Network Segregation. J Neurosci 2023; 43:7879-7892. [PMID: 37714710 PMCID: PMC10648516 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0579-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with changes in large-scale functional brain network organization. Individuals with AD exhibit less segregated resting-state brain networks compared with individuals without dementia. However, declines in brain network segregation are also evident as adult individuals grow older. Determining whether these observations reflect unique or overlapping alterations on the functional connectome of the brain is essential for understanding the impact of AD on network organization and incorporating measures of functional brain network organization toward AD characterization. Relationships between AD dementia severity and participant's age on resting-state brain system segregation were examined in 326 cognitively healthy and 275 cognitively impaired human individuals recruited through the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) (N = 601; age range, 55-96 years; 320 females). Greater dementia severity and increasing age were independently associated with lower brain system segregation. Further, dementia versus age relationships with brain network organization varied according to the processing roles of brain systems and types of network interactions. Aging was associated with alterations to association systems, primarily among within-system relationships. Conversely, dementia severity was associated with alterations that included both association systems and sensory-motor systems and was most prominent among cross-system interactions. Dementia-related network alterations were evident regardless of the presence of cortical amyloid burden, revealing that the measures of functional network organization are unique from this marker of AD-related pathology. Collectively, these observations demonstrate the specific and widespread alterations in the topological organization of large-scale brain networks that accompany AD and highlight functionally dissociable brain network vulnerabilities associated with AD-related cognitive dysfunction versus aging.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated cognitive dysfunction is hypothesized to be a consequence of brain network damage. It is unclear exactly how brain network alterations vary with dementia severity and whether they are distinct from alterations associated with aging. We evaluated functional brain network organization measured at rest among individuals who varied in age and dementia status. AD and aging exerted dissociable impacts on the brain's functional connectome. AD-associated brain network alterations were widespread and involved systems that subserve not only higher-order cognitive operations, but also sensory and motor operations. Notably, AD-related network alterations were independent of amyloid pathology. The research furthers our understanding of AD-related brain dysfunction and motivates refining existing frameworks of dementia characterization with measures of functional network organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziwei Zhang
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
| | - Micaela Y Chan
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
| | - Liang Han
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
| | - Claudia A Carreno
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
| | - Ezra Winter-Nelson
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
| | - Gagan S Wig
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
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9
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Myers MJ, Labonte AK, Gordon EM, Laumann TO, Tu JC, Wheelock MD, Nielsen AN, Schwarzlose R, Camacho MC, Warner BB, Raghuraman N, Luby JL, Barch DM, Fair DA, Petersen SE, Rogers CE, Smyser CD, Sylvester CM. Functional parcellation of the neonatal brain. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.10.566629. [PMID: 37986902 PMCID: PMC10659431 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.566629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The cerebral cortex is organized into distinct but interconnected cortical areas, which can be defined by abrupt differences in patterns of resting state functional connectivity (FC) across the cortical surface. Such parcellations of the cortex have been derived in adults and older infants, but there is no widely used surface parcellation available for the neonatal brain. Here, we first demonstrate that adult- and older infant-derived parcels are a poor fit with neonatal data, emphasizing the need for neonatal-specific parcels. We next derive a set of 283 cortical surface parcels from a sample of n=261 neonates. These parcels have highly homogenous FC patterns and are validated using three external neonatal datasets. The Infomap algorithm is used to assign functional network identities to each parcel, and derived networks are consistent with prior work in neonates. The proposed parcellation may represent neonatal cortical areas and provides a powerful tool for neonatal neuroimaging studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Myers
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Alyssa K Labonte
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Evan M Gordon
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Timothy O Laumann
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jiaxin Cindy Tu
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Ashley N Nielsen
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rebecca Schwarzlose
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - M Catalina Camacho
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Barbara B Warner
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Nandini Raghuraman
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Joan L Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Damien A Fair
- Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Steven E Petersen
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Cynthia E Rogers
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Christopher D Smyser
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Chad M Sylvester
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
- Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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10
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Uddin LQ, Betzel RF, Cohen JR, Damoiseaux JS, De Brigard F, Eickhoff SB, Fornito A, Gratton C, Gordon EM, Laird AR, Larson-Prior L, McIntosh AR, Nickerson LD, Pessoa L, Pinho AL, Poldrack RA, Razi A, Sadaghiani S, Shine JM, Yendiki A, Yeo BTT, Spreng RN. Controversies and progress on standardization of large-scale brain network nomenclature. Netw Neurosci 2023; 7:864-905. [PMID: 37781138 PMCID: PMC10473266 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Progress in scientific disciplines is accompanied by standardization of terminology. Network neuroscience, at the level of macroscale organization of the brain, is beginning to confront the challenges associated with developing a taxonomy of its fundamental explanatory constructs. The Workgroup for HArmonized Taxonomy of NETworks (WHATNET) was formed in 2020 as an Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)-endorsed best practices committee to provide recommendations on points of consensus, identify open questions, and highlight areas of ongoing debate in the service of moving the field toward standardized reporting of network neuroscience results. The committee conducted a survey to catalog current practices in large-scale brain network nomenclature. A few well-known network names (e.g., default mode network) dominated responses to the survey, and a number of illuminating points of disagreement emerged. We summarize survey results and provide initial considerations and recommendations from the workgroup. This perspective piece includes a selective review of challenges to this enterprise, including (1) network scale, resolution, and hierarchies; (2) interindividual variability of networks; (3) dynamics and nonstationarity of networks; (4) consideration of network affiliations of subcortical structures; and (5) consideration of multimodal information. We close with minimal reporting guidelines for the cognitive and network neuroscience communities to adopt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucina Q. Uddin
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Richard F. Betzel
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Jessica R. Cohen
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jessica S. Damoiseaux
- Institute of Gerontology and Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | | | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alex Fornito
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Caterina Gratton
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Evan M. Gordon
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Angela R. Laird
- Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Linda Larson-Prior
- Deptartment of Psychiatry and Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - A. Randal McIntosh
- Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Luiz Pessoa
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Ana Luísa Pinho
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Adeel Razi
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sepideh Sadaghiani
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, IL, USA
| | - James M. Shine
- Brain and Mind Center, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Anastasia Yendiki
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - B. T. Thomas Yeo
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - R. Nathan Spreng
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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11
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Wang F, Zhang H, Wu Z, Hu D, Zhou Z, Girault JB, Wang L, Lin W, Li G. Fine-grained functional parcellation maps of the infant cerebral cortex. eLife 2023; 12:e75401. [PMID: 37526293 PMCID: PMC10393291 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) is widely used to examine the dynamic brain functional development of infants, but these studies typically require precise cortical parcellation maps, which cannot be directly borrowed from adult-based functional parcellation maps due to the substantial differences in functional brain organization between infants and adults. Creating infant-specific cortical parcellation maps is thus highly desired but remains challenging due to difficulties in acquiring and processing infant brain MRIs. In this study, we leveraged 1064 high-resolution longitudinal rs-fMRIs from 197 typically developing infants and toddlers from birth to 24 months who participated in the Baby Connectome Project to develop the first set of infant-specific, fine-grained, surface-based cortical functional parcellation maps. To establish meaningful cortical functional correspondence across individuals, we performed cortical co-registration using both the cortical folding geometric features and the local gradient of functional connectivity (FC). Then we generated both age-related and age-independent cortical parcellation maps with over 800 fine-grained parcels during infancy based on aligned and averaged local gradient maps of FC across individuals. These parcellation maps reveal complex functional developmental patterns, such as changes in local gradient, network size, and local efficiency, especially during the first 9 postnatal months. Our generated fine-grained infant cortical functional parcellation maps are publicly available at https://www.nitrc.org/projects/infantsurfatlas/ for advancing the pediatric neuroimaging field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Han Zhang
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Zhengwang Wu
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Dan Hu
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Zhen Zhou
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Jessica B Girault
- Department of Psychiatry, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Weili Lin
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
| | - Gang Li
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillUnited States
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12
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Yang G, Bozek J, Noble S, Han M, Wu X, Xue M, Kang J, Jia T, Fu J, Ge J, Cui Z, Li X, Feng J, Gao JH. Global diversity in individualized cortical network topography. Cereb Cortex 2023:6992941. [PMID: 36657772 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Revised: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Individualized cortical network topography (ICNT) varies between people and exhibits great variability in the association networks in the human brain. However, these findings were mainly discovered in Western populations. It remains unclear whether and how ICNT is shaped by the non-Western populations. Here, we leveraged a multisession hierarchical Bayesian model to define individualized functional networks in White American and Han Chinese populations with data from both US and Chinese Human Connectome Projects. We found that both the size and spatial topography of individualized functional networks differed between White American and Han Chinese groups, especially in the heteromodal association cortex (including the ventral attention, control, language, dorsal attention, and default mode networks). Employing a support vector machine, we then demonstrated that ethnicity-related ICNT diversity can be used to identify an individual's ethnicity with high accuracy (74%, pperm < 0.0001), with heteromodal networks contributing most to the classification. This finding was further validated through mass-univariate analyses with generalized additive models. Moreover, we reveal that the spatial heterogeneity of ethnic diversity in ICNT correlated with fundamental properties of cortical organization, including evolutionary cortical expansion, brain myelination, and cerebral blood flow. Altogether, this case study highlights a need for more globally diverse and publicly available neuroimaging datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoyuan Yang
- Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, School of Medical Technology, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jelena Bozek
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Stephanie Noble
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
| | - Meizhen Han
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xinyu Wu
- Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, School of Medical Technology, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Mufan Xue
- Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, School of Medical Technology, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jujiao Kang
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.,Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Tianye Jia
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.,Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Jilian Fu
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300203, China
| | - Jianqiao Ge
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zaixu Cui
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Xuesong Li
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jianfeng Feng
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.,Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.,Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.,MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.,Beijing City Key Laboratory for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institution of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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13
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Deery HA, Di Paolo R, Moran C, Egan GF, Jamadar SD. The older adult brain is less modular, more integrated, and less efficient at rest: A systematic review of large-scale resting-state functional brain networks in aging. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14159. [PMID: 36106762 PMCID: PMC10909558 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The literature on large-scale resting-state functional brain networks across the adult lifespan was systematically reviewed. Studies published between 1986 and July 2021 were retrieved from PubMed. After reviewing 2938 records, 144 studies were included. Results on 11 network measures were summarized and assessed for certainty of the evidence using a modified GRADE method. The evidence provides high certainty that older adults display reduced within-network and increased between-network functional connectivity. Older adults also show lower segregation, modularity, efficiency and hub function, and decreased lateralization and a posterior to anterior shift at rest. Higher-order functional networks reliably showed age differences, whereas primary sensory and motor networks showed more variable results. The inflection point for network changes is often the third or fourth decade of life. Age effects were found with moderate certainty for within- and between-network altered patterns and speed of dynamic connectivity. Research on within-subject bold variability and connectivity using glucose uptake provides low certainty of age differences but warrants further study. Taken together, these age-related changes may contribute to the cognitive decline often seen in older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamish A. Deery
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental HealthMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Monash Biomedical ImagingMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Robert Di Paolo
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental HealthMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Monash Biomedical ImagingMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Chris Moran
- Peninsula Clinical School, Central Clinical SchoolMonash UniversityFrankstonVictoriaAustralia
- Department of Geriatric MedicinePeninsula HealthFrankstonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Gary F. Egan
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental HealthMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Monash Biomedical ImagingMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain FunctionMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Sharna D. Jamadar
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental HealthMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Monash Biomedical ImagingMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain FunctionMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
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14
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Steward A, Biel D, Brendel M, Dewenter A, Roemer S, Rubinski A, Luan Y, Dichgans M, Ewers M, Franzmeier N. Functional network segregation is associated with attenuated tau spreading in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement 2022; 19:2034-2046. [PMID: 36433865 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Lower network segregation is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet it is unclear whether less segregated brain networks facilitate connectivity-mediated tau spreading. METHODS We combined resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with longitudinal tau positron emission tomography (PET) in 42 betamyloid-negative controls and 81 amyloid beta positive individuals across the AD spectrum. Network segregation was determined using resting-state fMRI-assessed connectivity among 400 cortical regions belonging to seven networks. RESULTS AD subjects with higher network segregation exhibited slower brain-wide tau accumulation relative to their baseline entorhinal tau PET burden (typical onset site of tau pathology). Second, by identifying patient-specific tau epicenters with highest baseline tau PET we found that stronger epicenter segregation was associated with a slower rate of tau accumulation in the rest of the brain in relation to baseline epicenter tau burden. DISCUSSION Our results indicate that tau spreading is facilitated by a more diffusely organized connectome, suggesting that brain network topology modulates tau spreading in AD. HIGHLIGHTS Higher brain network segregation is associated with attenuated tau pathology accumulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A patient-tailored approach allows for the more precise localization of tau epicenters. The functional segregation of subject-specific tau epicenters predicts the rate of future tau accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Steward
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
| | - Davina Biel
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
| | - Matthias Brendel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine University Hospital LMU Munich Munich Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Munich Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) Munich Germany
| | - Anna Dewenter
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
| | - Sebastian Roemer
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
- Department of Neurology University Hospital LMU Munich Munich Germany
| | - Anna Rubinski
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
| | - Ying Luan
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
| | - Martin Dichgans
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Munich Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) Munich Germany
| | - Michael Ewers
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Munich Germany
| | - Nicolai Franzmeier
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) University Hospital LMU Munich Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) Munich Germany
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15
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Moghimi P, Dang AT, Do Q, Netoff TI, Lim KO, Atluri G. Evaluation of functional MRI-based human brain parcellation: a review. J Neurophysiol 2022; 128:197-217. [PMID: 35675446 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00411.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain parcellations play a crucial role in the analysis of brain imaging data sets, as they can significantly affect the outcome of the analysis. In recent years, several novel approaches for constructing MRI-based brain parcellations have been developed with promising results. In the absence of ground truth, several evaluation approaches have been used to evaluate currently available brain parcellations. In this article, we review and critique methods used for evaluating functional brain parcellations constructed using fMRI data sets. We also describe how some of these evaluation methods have been used to estimate the optimal parcellation granularity. We provide a critical discussion of the current approach to the problem of identifying the optimal brain parcellation that is suited for a given neuroimaging study. We argue that the criteria for an optimal brain parcellation must depend on the application the parcellation is intended for. We describe a teleological approach to the evaluation of brain parcellations, where brain parcellations are evaluated in different contexts and optimal brain parcellations for each context are identified separately. We conclude by discussing several directions for further research that would result in improved evaluation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pantea Moghimi
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Anh The Dang
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Quan Do
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Theoden I Netoff
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Kelvin O Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Gowtham Atluri
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
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16
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Lewis JD, Bezgin G, Fonov VS, Collins DL, Evans AC. A sub+cortical fMRI-based surface parcellation. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 43:616-632. [PMID: 34761459 PMCID: PMC8720195 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Both cortical and subcortical structures are organized into a large number of distinct areas reflecting functional and cytoarchitectonic differences. Mapping these areas is of fundamental importance to neuroscience. A central obstacle to this task is the inaccuracy associated with bringing results from individuals into a common space. The vast individual differences in morphology pose a serious problem for volumetric registration. Surface‐based approaches fare substantially better, but have thus far been used only for cortical parcellation, leaving subcortical parcellation in volumetric space. We extend the surface‐based approach to include also the subcortical deep gray‐matter structures, thus achieving a uniform representation across both cortex and subcortex, suitable for use with surface‐based metrics that span these structures, for example, white/gray contrast. Using data from the Enhanced Nathan Klein Institute—Rockland Sample, limited to individuals between 19 and 69 years of age, we generate a functional parcellation of both the cortical and subcortical surfaces. To assess this extended parcellation, we show that (a) our parcellation provides greater homogeneity of functional connectivity patterns than do arbitrary parcellations matching in the number and size of parcels; (b) our parcels align with known cortical and subcortical architecture; and (c) our extended functional parcellation provides an improved fit to the complexity of life‐span (6–85 years) changes in white/gray contrast data compared to arbitrary parcellations matching in the number and size of parcels, supporting its use with surface‐based measures. We provide our extended functional parcellation for the use of the neuroimaging community.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Lewis
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Gleb Bezgin
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, The McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Verdun, Quebec, Canada
| | - Vladimir S Fonov
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - D Louis Collins
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alan C Evans
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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17
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Brooks SJ, Parks SM, Stamoulis C. Big Data-Driven Brain Parcellation from fMRI: Impact of Cohort Heterogeneity on Functional Connectivity Maps. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2021; 2021:3133-3136. [PMID: 34891905 DOI: 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9630267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing large-scale human brain studies are generating complex neuroimaging data from thousands of individuals that can be leveraged to derive data-driven, anatomically accurate brain parcellations. However, despite their promise and many strengths, these data are highly heterogeneous, a characteristic that may affect the anatomical accuracy and generalization of the template but has received relatively little attention. Using multiple similarity measures and thresholding approaches, this study investigated the topological intra- and inter-individual variability of restingstate (rs) functional edge maps (often used for brain parcellation), estimated from rs-fMRI connectivity in n = 5878 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Findings from this initial investigation indicate that choosing a subject- vs cohort-based threshold for estimating edge maps from connectivity matrices does not significantly impact the map topology. In contrast, the choice of similarity measure and non-linear relationship between similarity and edge map sparsity may have a significant impact on map classification and the generation of parcellation atlases. Multi-level classification revealed multiple clusters with a potentially complex mapping onto biological variables beyond simple demographics.Clinical Relevance- Case-control neuroimaging studies should use domain-specific (e.g., demographics-specific) atlases for parcellating the brain, to improve accuracy and rigor of cohort comparisons. To be generalizable, such atlases need to be derived from large datasets, which are inherently heterogeneous. In a cohort of 5878 children (age ~9-10 years), this study systematically assessed the impact of heterogeneity and similarity of edge maps, which are derived from rs-fMRI connectivity and typically used to generate parcellation atlases.
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18
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Chan MY, Han L, Carreno CA, Zhang Z, Rodriguez RM, LaRose M, Hassenstab J, Wig GS. Long-term prognosis and educational determinants of brain network decline in older adult individuals. NATURE AGING 2021; 1:1053-1067. [PMID: 35382259 PMCID: PMC8979545 DOI: 10.1038/s43587-021-00125-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Older adults with lower education are at greater risk for dementia. It is unclear which brain changes lead to these outcomes. Longitudinal imaging-based measures of brain structure and function were examined in adult individuals (baseline age, 45–86 years; two to five visits per participant over 1–9 years). College degree completion differentiates individual-based and neighborhood-based measures of socioeconomic status and disadvantage. Older adults (~65 years and over) without a college degree exhibit a pattern of declining large-scale functional brain network organization (resting-state system segregation) that is less evident in their college-educated peers. Declining brain system segregation predicts impending changes in dementia severity, measured up to 10 years past the last scan date. The prognostic value of brain network change is independent of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related genetic risk (APOE status), the presence of AD-associated pathology (cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau, cortical amyloid) and cortical thinning. These results demonstrate that the trajectory of an individual’s brain network organization varies in relation to their educational attainment and, more broadly, is a unique indicator of individual brain health during older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micaela Y Chan
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Liang Han
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Claudia A Carreno
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Ziwei Zhang
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Rebekah M Rodriguez
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Megan LaRose
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jason Hassenstab
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Gagan S Wig
- Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
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19
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Wright LM, De Marco M, Venneri A. A Graph Theory Approach to Clarifying Aging and Disease Related Changes in Cognitive Networks. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:676618. [PMID: 34322008 PMCID: PMC8311855 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.676618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In accordance with the physiological networks that underlie it, human cognition is characterized by both the segregation and interdependence of a number of cognitive domains. Cognition itself, therefore, can be conceptualized as a network of functions. A network approach to cognition has previously revealed topological differences in cognitive profiles between healthy and disease populations. The present study, therefore, used graph theory to determine variation in cognitive profiles across healthy aging and cognitive impairment. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 415 participants. This included three groups of healthy adults aged 18-39 (n = 75), 40-64 (n = 75), and 65 and over (n = 70) and three patient groups with either amnestic (n = 75) or non-amnestic (n = 60) mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's type dementia (n = 60). For each group, cognitive networks were created reflective of test-to-test covariance, in which nodes represented cognitive tests and edges reflected statistical inter-nodal significance (p < 0.05). Network metrics were derived using the Brain Connectivity Toolbox. Network-wide clustering, local efficiency and global efficiency of nodes showed linear differences across the stages of aging, being significantly higher among older adults when compared with younger groups. Among patients, these metrics were significantly higher again when compared with healthy older controls. Conversely, average betweenness centralities were highest in middle-aged participants and lower among older adults and patients. In particular, compared with controls, patients demonstrated a distinct lack of centrality in the domains of semantic processing and abstract reasoning. Network composition in the amnestic mild cognitive impairment group was similar to the network of Alzheimer's dementia patients. Using graph theoretical methods, this study demonstrates that the composition of cognitive networks may be measurably altered by the aging process and differentially impacted by pathological cognitive impairment. Network alterations characteristic of Alzheimer's disease in particular may occur early and be distinct from alterations associated with differing types of cognitive impairment. A shift in centrality between domains may be particularly relevant in identifying cognitive profiles indicative of underlying disease. Such techniques may contribute to the future development of more sophisticated diagnostic tools for neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Wright
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Matteo De Marco
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Annalena Venneri
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.,Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, United Kingdom
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20
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Argiris G, Stern Y, Habeck C. Age-related disintegration in functional connectivity: Evidence from Reference Ability Neural Network (RANN) cohort. Neuropsychologia 2021; 156:107856. [PMID: 33845079 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Aging is typically marked by a decline in some domains of cognition. Some theories have linked this decline to a reduction in distinctiveness of processing at the neural level that in turn leads to cognitive decline. Increasing correlations with age among tasks formerly considered independent have been posited, supporting dedifferentiation, although results have been mixed. An alternative view is that tasks become more, and not less, independent of one another with increasing age, suggesting age-related differentiation, or what has also been termed disintegration. In the current study, we investigated if the aging process leads to a loss of behavioral and neural specificity within latent cognitive abilities. To this end, we tested 287 participants (20-80 years) on a battery of 12 in-scanner tests, three each tapping one of four reference abilities. We performed between-task correlations within domain (pertaining to convergent validity), and between domain (pertaining to discriminant validity) at both the behavioral and neural level and found that neural convergent validity was positively associated with behavioral convergent validity. In examining neural validity across the lifespan, we found significant reductions in both within- and between-domain task correlations, with a significant decrease in construct validity (convergent or discriminant) with age. Furthermore, the effect of age on total cognition was significantly mediated by neural construct validity. Taken together, contrary to a hypothesis of dedifferentiation, these correlation reductions suggest that tasks indeed become more independent with advancing age, favoring a differentiation/disintegration hypothesis of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgette Argiris
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Yaakov Stern
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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21
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Anderson KM, Ge T, Kong R, Patrick LM, Spreng RN, Sabuncu MR, Yeo BTT, Holmes AJ. Heritability of individualized cortical network topography. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2016271118. [PMID: 33622790 PMCID: PMC7936334 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2016271118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Human cortex is patterned by a complex and interdigitated web of large-scale functional networks. Recent methodological breakthroughs reveal variation in the size, shape, and spatial topography of cortical networks across individuals. While spatial network organization emerges across development, is stable over time, and is predictive of behavior, it is not yet clear to what extent genetic factors underlie interindividual differences in network topography. Here, leveraging a nonlinear multidimensional estimation of heritability, we provide evidence that individual variability in the size and topographic organization of cortical networks are under genetic control. Using twin and family data from the Human Connectome Project (n = 1,023), we find increased variability and reduced heritability in the size of heteromodal association networks (h2 : M = 0.34, SD = 0.070), relative to unimodal sensory/motor cortex (h2 : M = 0.40, SD = 0.097). We then demonstrate that the spatial layout of cortical networks is influenced by genetics, using our multidimensional estimation of heritability (h2-multi; M = 0.14, SD = 0.015). However, topographic heritability did not differ between heteromodal and unimodal networks. Genetic factors had a regionally variable influence on brain organization, such that the heritability of network topography was greatest in prefrontal, precuneus, and posterior parietal cortex. Taken together, these data are consistent with relaxed genetic control of association cortices relative to primary sensory/motor regions and have implications for understanding population-level variability in brain functioning, guiding both individualized prediction and the interpretation of analyses that integrate genetics and neuroimaging.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tian Ge
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Ru Kong
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Centre for Sleep and Cognition, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
- N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
- Institute for Digital Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
| | | | - R Nathan Spreng
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Mert R Sabuncu
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
- Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
| | - B T Thomas Yeo
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Centre for Sleep and Cognition, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
- N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
- National University of Singapore Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
| | - Avram J Holmes
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
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22
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Mikos A, Malagurski B, Liem F, Mérillat S, Jäncke L. Object-Location Memory Training in Older Adults Leads to Greater Deactivation of the Dorsal Default Mode Network. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:623766. [PMID: 33716693 PMCID: PMC7952529 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.623766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Substantial evidence indicates that cognitive training can be efficacious for older adults, but findings regarding training-related brain plasticity have been mixed and vary depending on the imaging modality. Recent years have seen a growth in recognition of the importance of large-scale brain networks on cognition. In particular, task-induced deactivation within the default mode network (DMN) is thought to facilitate externally directed cognition, while aging-related decrements in this neural process are related to reduced cognitive performance. It is not yet clear whether task-induced deactivation within the DMN can be enhanced by cognitive training in the elderly. We previously reported durable cognitive improvements in a sample of healthy older adults (age range = 60-75) who completed 6 weeks of process-based object-location memory training (N = 36) compared to an active control training group (N = 31). The primary aim of the current study is to evaluate whether these cognitive gains are accompanied by training-related changes in task-related DMN deactivation. Given the evidence for heterogeneity of the DMN, we examine task-related activation/deactivation within two separate DMN branches, a ventral branch related to episodic memory and a dorsal branch more closely resembling the canonical DMN. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an untrained object-location memory task at four time points before, during, and after the training period. Task-induced (de)activation values were extracted for the ventral and dorsal DMN branches at each time point. Relative to visual fixation baseline: (i) the dorsal DMN was deactivated during the scanner task, while the ventral DMN was activated; (ii) the object-location memory training group exhibited an increase in dorsal DMN deactivation relative to the active control group over the course of training and follow-up; (iii) changes in dorsal DMN deactivation did not correlate with task improvement. These results indicate a training-related enhancement of task-induced deactivation of the dorsal DMN, although the specificity of this improvement to the cognitive task performed in the scanner is not clear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ania Mikos
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brigitta Malagurski
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Franziskus Liem
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susan Mérillat
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Division of Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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23
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Hrybouski S, Cribben I, McGonigle J, Olsen F, Carter R, Seres P, Madan CR, Malykhin NV. Investigating the effects of healthy cognitive aging on brain functional connectivity using 4.7 T resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1067-1098. [PMID: 33604746 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02226-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Functional changes in the aging human brain have been previously reported using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Earlier resting-state fMRI studies revealed an age-associated weakening of intra-system functional connectivity (FC) and age-associated strengthening of inter-system FC. However, the majority of such FC studies did not investigate the relationship between age and network amplitude, without which correlation-based measures of FC can be challenging to interpret. Consequently, the main aim of this study was to investigate how three primary measures of resting-state fMRI signal-network amplitude, network topography, and inter-network FC-are affected by healthy cognitive aging. We acquired resting-state fMRI data on a 4.7 T scanner for 105 healthy participants representing the entire adult lifespan (18-85 years of age). To study age differences in network structure, we combined ICA-based network decomposition with sparse graphical models. Older adults displayed lower blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal amplitude in all functional systems, with sensorimotor networks showing the largest age differences. Our age comparisons of network topography and inter-network FC demonstrated a substantial amount of age invariance in the brain's functional architecture. Despite architecture similarities, old adults displayed a loss of communication efficiency in our inter-network FC comparisons, driven primarily by the FC reduction in frontal and parietal association cortices. Together, our results provide a comprehensive overview of age effects on fMRI-based FC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislau Hrybouski
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Ivor Cribben
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Department of Accounting and Business Analytics, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - John McGonigle
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Fraser Olsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Rawle Carter
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Peter Seres
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | | | - Nikolai V Malykhin
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. .,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V2, Canada.
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24
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A probabilistic atlas of the human ventral tegmental area (VTA) based on 7 Tesla MRI data. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1155-1167. [PMID: 33580320 PMCID: PMC8036186 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02231-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) BOLD signal is commonly localized by using neuroanatomical atlases, which can also serve for region of interest analyses. Yet, the available MRI atlases have serious limitations when it comes to imaging subcortical structures: only 7% of the 455 subcortical nuclei are captured by current atlases. This highlights the general difficulty in mapping smaller nuclei deep in the brain, which can be addressed using ultra-high field 7 Tesla (T) MRI. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a subcortical structure that plays a pivotal role in reward processing, learning and memory. Despite the significant interest in this nucleus in cognitive neuroscience, there are currently no available, anatomically precise VTA atlases derived from 7 T MRI data that cover the full region of the VTA. Here, we first provide a protocol for multimodal VTA imaging and delineation. We then provide a data description of a probabilistic VTA atlas based on in vivo 7 T MRI data.
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25
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Ogawa A, Osada T, Tanaka M, Kamagata K, Aoki S, Konishi S. Connectivity-based localization of human hypothalamic nuclei in functional images of standard voxel size. Neuroimage 2020; 221:117205. [PMID: 32735999 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their critical roles in autonomic functions, individual hypothalamic nuclei have not been extensively investigated in humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging, partly due to the difficulty in resolving individual nuclei contained in the small structure of the hypothalamus. Areal parcellation analyses enable discrimination of individual hypothalamic nuclei but require a higher spatial resolution, which necessitates long scanning time or large amounts of data to compensate for the low signal-to-noise ratio in 3T or 1.5T scanners. In this study, we present analytic procedures to estimate likely locations of individual nuclei in the standard 2-mm resolution based on our higher resolution dataset. The spatial profiles of functional connectivity with the cerebral cortex for each nucleus in the medial hypothalamus were calculated using our higher resolution dataset. Voxels in the hypothalamus in standard resolution images from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) database that predominantly shared connectivity profiles with the same nucleus were subsequently identified. Voxels representing individual nuclei, as identified with the analytic procedures, were reproducible across 20 HCP datasets of 20 subjects each. Furthermore, the identified voxels were spatially separate. These results suggest that these analytic procedures are capable of refining voxels that represent individual hypothalamic nuclei in standard resolution. Our results highlight the potential utility of these procedures in various settings such as patient studies, where lengthy scans are infeasible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akitoshi Ogawa
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takahiro Osada
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaki Tanaka
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Koji Kamagata
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeki Aoki
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Seiki Konishi
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Sportology Center, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Advanced Research Institute for Health Science, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
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26
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Argiris G, Stern Y, Habeck C. Reference Ability Neural Network-selective functional connectivity across the lifespan. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:644-659. [PMID: 33108673 PMCID: PMC7814764 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 09/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that four latent variables, or reference abilities (RAs), can account for the majority of age-related changes in cognition: these being episodic memory, fluid reasoning, speed of processing, and vocabulary. In the current study, we focused on RA-selective functional connectivity patterns that vary with both age and behavior. We analyzed fMRI data from 287 community-dwelling adults (20-80 years) on a battery of tests relating to the four RAs (three tests per RA = 12 tests). Functional connectivity values were calculated between a pre-defined set of 264 ROIs (nodes). Across all participants, we (a) identified connections (edges) that correlated with an RA-specific indicator variable and, indexing only these edges; (b) performed linear regression analysis per edge, regressing indicator correlations (Model 1) and connectivity values (Model 2) on Age, Behavioral Performance, and the Interaction term; and (c) took the conjunction of significant edges between models. Results revealed a different subset of edges for each RA whose connectivity strength and domain-selectivity varied with age and behavior. Strikingly, the fluid reasoning RA was particularly vulnerable to the effects of age and displayed the most extensive connectivity and selectivity "footprint" for behavior. These findings indicate that different functional networks are recruited across RA, with fluid reasoning displaying a special status among them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgette Argiris
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Yaakov Stern
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
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27
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Wen X, He H, Dong L, Chen J, Yang J, Guo H, Luo C, Yao D. Alterations of local functional connectivity in lifespan: A resting-state fMRI study. Brain Behav 2020; 10:e01652. [PMID: 32462815 PMCID: PMC7375100 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION As aging attracted attention globally, revealing changes in brain function across the lifespan was largely concerned. In this study, we aimed to reveal the changes of functional networks of the brain (via local functional connectivity, local FC) in lifespan and explore the mechanism underlying them. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 523 healthy participants (258 males and 265 females) aged 18-88 years from part of the Cambridge Center for Ageing and Neuroscience (CamCAN) were involved in this study. Next, two data-driven measures of local FC, local functional connectivity density (lFCD) and four-dimensional spatial-temporal consistency of local neural activity (FOCA), were calculated, and then, general linear models were used to assess the changes of them in lifespan. RESULTS Local functional connectivity (lFCD and FOCA) within visual networks (VN), sensorimotor network (SMN), and default mode network (DMN) decreased across the lifespan, while within basal ganglia network (BGN), local connectivity was increased across the lifespan. And, the fluid intelligence decreased within BGN while increased within VN, SMN, and DMN. CONCLUSION These results might suggest that the decline of executive control and intrinsic cognitive ability in the aging population was related to the decline of functional connectivity in VN, SMN, and DMN. Meanwhile, BGN might play a regulatory role in the aging process to compensate for the dysfunction of other functional systems. Our findings may provide important neuroimaging evidence for exploring the brain functional mechanism in lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wen
- College of Information and Computer, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, China
| | - Hui He
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Li Dong
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Junjie Chen
- College of Information and Computer, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jie Yang
- School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Hao Guo
- College of Information and Computer, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, China
| | - Cheng Luo
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Dezhong Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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28
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Malagurski B, Liem F, Oschwald J, Mérillat S, Jäncke L. Functional dedifferentiation of associative resting state networks in older adults - A longitudinal study. Neuroimage 2020; 214:116680. [PMID: 32105885 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy aging is associated with weaker functional connectivity within resting state brain networks and stronger functional interaction between these networks. This phenomenon has been characterized as reduced functional segregation and has been investigated mainly in cross-sectional studies. Here, we used a longitudinal dataset which consisted of four occasions of resting state fMRI and psychometric cognitive ability data, collected from a sample of healthy older adults (baseline N = 232, age range: 64-87 y, age M = 70.8 y), to investigate the functional segregation of several well-defined resting state networks encompassing the whole brain. We characterized the ratio of within-network and between-network correlations via the well-established segregation index. Our findings showed a decrease over a 4-year interval in the functional segregation of the default mode, frontoparietal control and salience ventral attention networks. In contrast, we showed an increase in the segregation of the limbic network over the same interval. More importantly, the rate of change in functional segregation of the frontoparietal control network was associated with the rate of change in processing speed. These findings support the hypothesis of functional dedifferentiation in healthy aging as well as its role in cognitive function in elderly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitta Malagurski
- University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Franziskus Liem
- University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jessica Oschwald
- University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susan Mérillat
- University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Division of Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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29
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Abstract
This review focuses on possible contributions of neural dedifferentiation to age-related cognitive decline. Neural dedifferentiation is held to reflect a breakdown in the functional specificity of brain regions and networks that compromises the fidelity of neural representations supporting episodic memory and related cognitive functions. The evidence for age-related dedifferentiation is robust when it is operationalized as neural selectivity for different categories of perceptual stimuli or as decreased segregation or modularity of resting-state functional brain networks. Neural dedifferentiation for perceptual categories appears to demonstrate a negative, age-invariant relationship with performance on tests of memory and fluid processing. Whether this pattern extends to network-level measures of dedifferentiation cannot currently be determined due to insufficient evidence. The existing data highlight the importance of further examination of neural dedifferentiation as a factor contributing to episodic memory and to cognitive performance more generally.
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30
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Kong TS, Gratton C, Low KA, Tan CH, Chiarelli AM, Fletcher MA, Zimmerman B, Maclin EL, Sutton BP, Gratton G, Fabiani M. Age-related differences in functional brain network segregation are consistent with a cascade of cerebrovascular, structural, and cognitive effects. Netw Neurosci 2020; 4:89-114. [PMID: 32043045 PMCID: PMC7006874 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Age-related declines in cognition are associated with widespread structural and functional brain changes, including changes in resting-state functional connectivity and gray and white matter status. Recently we have shown that the elasticity of cerebral arteries also explains some of the variance in cognitive and brain health in aging. Here, we investigated how network segregation, cerebral arterial elasticity (measured with pulse-DOT-the arterial pulse based on diffuse optical tomography) and gray and white matter status jointly account for age-related differences in cognitive performance. We hypothesized that at least some of the variance in brain and cognitive aging is linked to reduced cerebrovascular elasticity, leading to increased cortical atrophy and white matter abnormalities, which, in turn, are linked to reduced network segregation and decreases in cognitive performance. Pairwise comparisons between these variables are consistent with an exploratory hierarchical model linking them, especially when focusing on association network segregation (compared with segregation in sensorimotor networks). These findings suggest that preventing or slowing age-related changes in one or more of these factors may induce a neurophysiological cascade beneficial for preserving cognition in aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania S. Kong
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Caterina Gratton
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, IL, USA
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, IL, USA
| | - Kathy A. Low
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Chin Hong Tan
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Antonio M. Chiarelli
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. D’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mark A. Fletcher
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | | | - Edward L. Maclin
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Bradley P. Sutton
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Gabriele Gratton
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Monica Fabiani
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
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31
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Longitudinal Changes in the Cerebral Cortex Functional Organization of Healthy Elderly. J Neurosci 2019; 39:5534-5550. [PMID: 31109962 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1451-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Revised: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy aging is accompanied by disruptions in the functional modular organization of the human brain. Cross-sectional studies have shown age-related reductions in the functional segregation and distinctiveness of brain networks. However, less is known about the longitudinal changes in brain functional modular organization and their associations with aging-related cognitive decline. We examined age- and aging-related changes in functional architecture of the cerebral cortex using a dataset comprising a cross-sectional healthy young cohort of 57 individuals (mean ± SD age, 23.71 ± 3.61 years, 22 males) and a longitudinal healthy elderly cohort of 72 individuals (mean ± baseline age, 68.22 ± 5.80 years, 39 males) with 2-3 time points (18-24 months apart) of task-free fMRI data. We found both cross-sectional (elderly vs young) and longitudinal (in elderly) global decreases in network segregation (decreased local efficiency), integration (decreased global efficiency), and module distinctiveness (increased participation coefficient and decreased system segregation). At the modular level, whereas cross-sectional analyses revealed higher participation coefficient across all modules in the elderly compared with young participants, longitudinal analyses revealed focal longitudinal participation coefficient increases in three higher-order cognitive modules: control network, default mode network, and salience/ventral attention network. Cross-sectionally, elderly participants also showed worse attention performance with lower local efficiency and higher mean participation coefficient, and worse global cognitive performance with higher participation coefficient in the dorsal attention/control network. These findings suggest that healthy aging is associated with whole-brain connectome-wide changes in the functional modular organization of the brain, accompanied by loss of functional segregation, particularly in higher-order cognitive networks.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated age-related reductions in the functional segregation and distinctiveness of brain networks. However, longitudinal aging-related changes in brain functional modular architecture and their links to cognitive decline remain relatively understudied. Using graph theoretical and community detection approaches to study task-free functional network changes in a cross-sectional young and longitudinal healthy elderly cohort, we showed that aging was associated with global declines in network segregation, integration, and module distinctiveness, and specific declines in distinctiveness of higher-order cognitive networks. Further, such functional network deterioration was associated with poorer cognitive performance cross-sectionally. Our findings suggest that healthy aging is associated with system-level changes in brain functional modular organization, accompanied by functional segregation loss particularly in higher-order networks specialized for cognition.
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