title: White matter hyperintensities and cognitive reserve during a working memory task: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in cognitively normal older adults.
abstract: Cognitive reserve (CR) models posit that lifestyle factors such as education modulate the relationship between brain damage and cognition. However, the functional correlates of CR in healthy aging are still under investigation. White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are a common age-associated finding that impacts cognition. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to characterize the patterns of brain activation during a working memory task in older participants with high and low levels of education (as a proxy of CR) and high and low WMH volumes. Ninety older volunteers (aged 63-76 years) and 16 young adults (aged 21-27) completed the study. We found that older adults with higher education had better working memory performance than their less educated peers. Among the highly educated participants, those with WMH over-recruited areas engaged by young volunteers and showed activation in additional cortical and subcortical structures. However, those with low WMH differed little with respect to their younger counterparts. Our findings demonstrate that the functional mechanisms subtending the effects of education, as a proxy of CR, are modulated according to the WMH burden.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández-Cabello
authors.affiliation: Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology and Nutrition Service, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi iSunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Ciber Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cinta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valls-Pedret
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schurz
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Dídac
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vidal-Piñeiro
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Roser
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sala-Llonch
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi iSunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Neuroradiology Section, Radiology Service, Centre de Diagnòstic per la Imatge, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bargallo
authors.affiliation: Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology and Nutrition Service, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi iSunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Ciber Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ros
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi iSunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: dbartres@ub.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bartrés-Faz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D058245:Cognitive Reserve / Q000502:physiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Cognitive reserve; Compensation; Education; Neural efficiency; White matter hyperintensities; Working memory; fMRI