title: Age-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow among young to mid-life adults.
abstract: Using PET with [(15)O]H2O, we examined age in relation to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) among young to mid-life adults. Previous work has largely contrasted rCBF between young and elderly age groups dichotomously. This study maps the continuum of normal age-related changes in rCBF from early to mid-adulthood. We obtained images from 37 healthy volunteers between 19 and 50 years of age during an eyes-closed resting baseline condition. There was a negative correlation between age and rCBF in mesial frontal cortex, involving the anterior cingulate region (r = 0.63, p<0.001). These findings reflect differences in the distribution of rCBF evident in early to mid-adulthood that may be associated with subsequent changes in memory and executive functioning in later life.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Clinical Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: O'Leary
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Boles Ponto
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hichwa
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Andreasen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed