title: Working memory performance is related to intrinsic resting state functional connectivity changes in community-dwelling elderly cohort.
abstract: Characterization of normal age-related changes in resting state brain networks associated with working memory performance is a major prerequisite for studying neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between performing a working memory task (under MRI) and resting-state brain networks in a large cohort of healthy elderly subjects (n=337). Functional connectivity and interactions between networks were assessed within the default mode (DMN), salience (SN), and right and left central executive (CEN) networks in two groups of subjects classed by their performance (low and high). The low performance group showed lower functional connectivity in both the DMN and SN, and higher functional connectivity in the right and left CEN compared to the high performance group. Overall the functional connectivity within the DMN and the CEN were correlated. The lower functional connectivity within the DMN and SN in the low performance group is suggestive of altered attentional and memory processes and/or altered motivation. The higher functional connectivity within the CEN could be related to compensatory mechanisms, without which the subjects would have even lower performances. The correlation between the DMN and CEN suggests a modulation between the lower functional connectivity within the DMN and the higher functional connectivity within the CEN when performance is reduced. Finally, this study suggests that performance modifications in healthy elderly subjects are associated with reorganization of functional connectivity within the DMN, SN, and CEN.
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle Humaine, Department of Neuroradiology, Montpellier University Hospital Center, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France; Inserm U 1198, University of Montpellier II, France; EPHE, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charroud
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle Humaine, Department of Neuroradiology, Montpellier University Hospital Center, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Le Bars
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle Humaine, Department of Neuroradiology, Montpellier University Hospital Center, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France; Laboratoire Charles Coulomb, CNRS UMR 5221 - Université Montpellier II, Montpellier, France; Intrasense, Montpellier, Hérault, France.
authors.forename: Jérémy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deverdun
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steffener
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle Humaine, Department of Neuroradiology, Montpellier University Hospital Center, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France; Laboratoire Charles Coulomb, CNRS UMR 5221 - Université Montpellier II, Montpellier, France; Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, UMR 5203 - INSERM U661 - Université Montpellier II - Université Montpellier I, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Molino
authors.affiliation: Inserm, Unit 1061, Neuropsychiatry: Epidemiological and Clinical Research, La Colombière Hospital, University of Montpellier I, France.
authors.forename: Meriem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdennour
authors.affiliation: Inserm, Unit 1061, Neuropsychiatry: Epidemiological and Clinical Research, La Colombière Hospital, University of Montpellier I, France; Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Portet
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle Humaine, Department of Neuroradiology, Montpellier University Hospital Center, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonafe
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Yaakov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: Inserm, Unit 1061, Neuropsychiatry: Epidemiological and Clinical Research, La Colombière Hospital, University of Montpellier I, France; Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.affiliation: Inserm U 1198, University of Montpellier II, France; EPHE, Paris, France; Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tasnime N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Akbaraly
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle Humaine, Department of Neuroradiology, Montpellier University Hospital Center, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France; Team "Plasticity of Central Nervous System, Stem Cells and Glial Tumors", U1051, Institut of Neurosciences of Montpellier, Saint Eloi Hospital, Montpellier, France. Electronic address: nicolasdechampfleur@orange.fr.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Menjot de Champfleur
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Aging; Brain mapping; Functional MRI; Memory: working memory; Neural plasticity