title: Sources of disconnection in neurocognitive aging: cerebral white-matter integrity, resting-state functional connectivity, and white-matter hyperintensity volume.
abstract: Age-related decline in fluid cognition can be characterized as a disconnection among specific brain structures, leading to a decline in functional efficiency. The potential sources of disconnection, however, are unclear. We investigated imaging measures of cerebral white-matter integrity, resting-state functional connectivity, and white-matter hyperintensity volume as mediators of the relation between age and fluid cognition, in 145 healthy, community-dwelling adults 19-79 years of age. At a general level of analysis, with a single composite measure of fluid cognition and single measures of each of the 3 imaging modalities, age exhibited an independent influence on the cognitive and imaging measures, and the imaging variables did not mediate the age-cognition relation. At a more specific level of analysis, resting-state functional connectivity of sensorimotor networks was a significant mediator of the age-related decline in executive function. These findings suggest that different levels of analysis lead to different models of neurocognitive disconnection, and that resting-state functional connectivity, in particular, may contribute to age-related decline in executive function.
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: david.madden@duke.edu.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Madden
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Emily L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Parks
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Tallman
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Boylan
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hoagey
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Sally B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Cocjin
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Packard
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Micah A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Ying-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Guy G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Nan-Kuei
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Siciliano
authors.affiliation: Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Monge
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jesse A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Honig
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Michele T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Diaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D000066492:Cognitive Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012146:Rest / Q000523:psychology*; D066191:Sensorimotor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Cognition; Cortex; Diffusion tensor imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Mediation