title: Understanding variability in the BOLD signal and why it matters for aging.
abstract: Recent work in neuroscience supports the idea that variability in brain function is necessary for optimal brain responsivity to a changing environment. In this review, we discuss a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in younger and older adults to assess age-related differences in variability of the fMRI signal. This work shows that moment-to-moment brain signal variability represents an important "signal" within what is typically considered measurement-related "noise" in fMRI. This accumulation of evidence suggests that moving beyond the mean will provide a complementary window into aging-related neural processes.
authors.affiliation: Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M6A2E1, Canada, cgrady@research.baycrest.org.
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Grady
authors.forename: Douglas D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Garrett
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen