title: The association between stress and mood across the adult lifespan on default mode network.
abstract: Aging of brain structure and function is a complex process characterized by high inter- and intra-individual variability. Such variability may arise from the interaction of multiple factors, including exposure to stressful experience and mood variation, across the lifespan. Using a multimodal neuroimaging and neurocognitive approach, we investigated the association of stress, mood and their interaction, in the structure and function of the default mode network (DMN), both during rest and task-induced deactivation, throughout the adult lifespan. Data confirmed a decreased functional connectivity (FC) and task-induced deactivation of the DMN during the aging process and in subjects with lower mood; on the contrary, an increased FC was observed in subjects with higher perceived stress. Surprisingly, the association of aging with DMN was altered by stress and mood in specific regions. An increased difficulty to deactivate the DMN was noted in older participants with lower mood, contrasting with an increased deactivation in individuals presenting high stress, independently of their mood levels, with aging. Interestingly, this constant interaction across aging was globally most significant in the combination of high stress levels with a more depressed mood state, both during resting state and task-induced deactivations. The present results contribute to characterize the spectrum of FC and deactivation patterns of the DMN, highlighting the crucial association of stress and mood levels, during the adult aging process. These combinatorial approaches may help to understand the heterogeneity of the aging process in brain structure and function and several states that may lead to neuropsychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal.|Clinical Academic Center - Braga, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Miguel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal.|Clinical Academic Center - Braga, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal.|Clinical Academic Center - Braga, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal.|Clinical Academic Center - Braga, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nadine Correia
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal. njcsousa@ecsaude.uminho.pt.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal. njcsousa@ecsaude.uminho.pt.|Clinical Academic Center - Braga, Braga, Portugal. njcsousa@ecsaude.uminho.pt.
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sousa
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Aging; Connectivity; Default mode network; Mood; Stress