Discrete neuroanatomical networks are associated with specific cognitive abilities in old age
Open accessAbstract
There have been many attempts at explaining age-related cognitive decline on the basis of regional brain changes, with the usual but inconsistent findings being that smaller gray matter volumes in certain brain regions predict worse cognitive performance in specific domains. Additionally, compromised white matter integrity, as suggested by white matter hyperintensities or decreased regional white matter fractional anisotropy, has an adverse impact on cognitive functions. The human brain is, however, a network and it may be more appropriate to relate cognitive functions to properties of the network rather than specific brain regions. We report on graph theory-based analyses of diffusion tensor imaging tract-derived connectivity in a sample of 342 healthy individuals aged 72–92 years. The cognitive domains included processing speed, memory, language, visuospatial, and executive functions. We examined the association of these cognitive assessments with both the connectivity of the whole brain network and individual cortical regions. We found that the efficiency of the whole brain network of cortical fiber connections had an influence on processing speed and visuospatial and executive functions. Correlations between connectivity of specific regions and cognitive assessments were also observed, e.g., stronger connectivity in regions such as superior frontal gyrus and posterior cingulate cortex were associated with better executive function. Similar to the relationship between regional connectivity efficiency and age, greater processing speed was significantly correlated with better connectivity of nearly all the cortical regions. For the first time, regional anatomical connectivity maps related to processing speed and visuospatial and executive functions in the elderly are identified.
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The basic layouts of the brain's structural network are largely preserved until old age, including economical small-world character, modular organization, and rich club organization.
“tractography studies show that the basic layouts of the brain’s structural network are largely preserved until old age, such as the economical small-world character, the modular organization and rich club organization”
From Quantitative mapping of the brain’s structural connectivity using diffusion MRI tractography: A review (2022) · cites this paper as Wen et al., 2011
The Small-world properties section reports that all studied subjects’ structural networks had small-world architecture, and the Discussion says this property was preserved despite individual variation. The paper does not establish preservation across the lifespan until old age, and the passages found do not report preserved modular or rich-club organization. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Wen, W., Zhu, W., He, Y., Kochan, N. A., Reppermund, S., Slavin, M. J., Brodaty, H., Crawford, J., Xia, A., & Sachdev, P.
- Affiliations
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2011-01-26
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1204-1212
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6623602
- OpenAlex
- W2016944352
- Cited by
- 204
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 12.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of New South Wales
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (30870667)
- Medical Research Council (350833)
- Australian Research Council (ARC DP-0774213, 350833)
- National Health and Medical Research Council (510175, 350833)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Keywords
- age-related cognitive decline, brain networks, structural connectivity, diffusion tensor imaging, graph theory, processing speed, executive function, visuospatial ability, memory, language, posterior cingulate cortex, superior frontal gyrus, white matter integrity, gray matter volume, older adults
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Nerve Net, Diffusion Tensor Imaging
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