title: Grey matter correlates of susceptibility to scams in community-dwelling older adults.
abstract: Susceptibility to scams is a significant issue among older adults, even among those with intact cognition. Age-related changes in brain macrostructure may be associated with susceptibility to scams; however, this has yet to be explored. Based on previous work implicating frontal and temporal lobe functioning as important in decision making, we tested the hypothesis that susceptibility to scams is associated with smaller grey matter volume in frontal and temporal lobe regions in a large community-dwelling cohort of non-demented older adults. Participants (N = 327, mean age = 81.55, mean education = 15.30, 78.9 % female) completed a self-report measure used to assess susceptibility to scams and an MRI brain scan. Results indicated an inverse association between overall grey matter and susceptibility to scams in models adjusted for age, education, and sex; and in models further adjusted for cognitive function. No significant associations were observed for white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, or total brain volume. Models adjusted for age, education, and sex revealed seven clusters showing smaller grey matter in the right parahippocampal/hippocampal/fusiform, left middle temporal, left orbitofrontal, right ventromedial prefrontal, right middle temporal, right precuneus, and right dorsolateral prefrontal regions. In models further adjusted for cognitive function, results revealed three significant clusters showing smaller grey matter in the right parahippocampal/hippocampal/fusiform, right hippocampal, and right middle temporal regions. Lower grey matter concentration in specific brain regions may be associated with susceptibility to scams, even after adjusting for cognitive ability. Future research is needed to determine whether grey matter reductions in these regions may be a biomarker for susceptibility to scams in old age.
authors.affiliation: Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina St., Suite 1022, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. Duke_Han@rush.edu.|Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. Duke_Han@rush.edu.|Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. Duke_Han@rush.edu.|Mental Health Care Group, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA, 90822, USA. Duke_Han@rush.edu.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duke Han
authors.affiliation: Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina St., Suite 1022, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.affiliation: Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina St., Suite 1022, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arfanakis
authors.affiliation: Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina St., Suite 1022, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina St., Suite 1022, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Debra A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fleischman
authors.affiliation: Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina St., Suite 1022, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D057566:Self Report; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology; D066127:White Matter / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Brain volumetry; Cognition; Hippocampus; Parahippocampus; Scam