title: Differential relationships between transcallosal structural and functional connectivity in young and older adults.
abstract: Numerous studies have identified age differences in brain structure and function that correlate with declines in motor performance. While these investigations have typically focused on activity in isolated regions of the brain, resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging allow for more integrative assessments of spatially disparate neural networks. The novel contribution of the current study is to combine both resting state functional connectivity and diffusion tensor imaging to examine motor corticocortical circuits in young and older adults. We find that relatively greater functional connectivity between the primary motor cortices was strongly associated with decreased structural connectivity and poorer motor performance solely in older adults. We suggest that greater functional connectivity in older adults may be reflective of a release from the normally predominantly inhibitory interhemispheric communication associated with the primary motor cortices.
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. bfling@umich.edu
authors.forename: Brett W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Fling
authors.forename: Youngbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Peltier
authors.forename: Rachael D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Seidler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000502:physiology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult