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Roger E, Labache L, Hamlin N, Kruse J, Baciu M, Doucet GE. When Age Tips the Balance: a Dual Mechanism Affecting Hemispheric Specialization for Language. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.04.569978. [PMID: 38106059 PMCID: PMC10723284 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.04.569978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Aging engenders neuroadaptations, generally reducing specificity and selectivity in functional brain responses. Our investigation delves into the functional specialization of brain hemispheres within language-related networks across adulthood. In a cohort of 728 healthy adults spanning ages 18 to 88, we modeled the trajectories of inter-hemispheric asymmetry concerning the principal functional gradient across 37 homotopic regions of interest (hROIs) of an extensive language network, known as the Language-and-Memory Network. Our findings reveal that over two-thirds of Language-and-Memory Network hROIs undergo asymmetry changes with age, falling into two main clusters. The first cluster evolves from left-sided specialization to right-sided tendencies, while the second cluster transitions from right-sided asymmetry to left-hemisphere dominance. These reversed asymmetry shifts manifest around midlife, occurring after age 50, and are associated with poorer language production performance. Our results provide valuable insights into the influence of functional brain asymmetries on language proficiency and present a dynamic perspective on brain plasticity during the typical aging process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Roger
- Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Communication and Aging Lab, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Loïc Labache
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, US
| | - Noah Hamlin
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, 68010, US
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, 68178, US
| | - Jordanna Kruse
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, 68010, US
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, 68178, US
| | - Monica Baciu
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Gaelle E. Doucet
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, 68010, US
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, 68178, US
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, 68178, US
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2
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Cespón J, Chupina I, Carreiras M. Cognitive reserve counteracts typical neural activity changes related to ageing. Neuropsychologia 2023; 188:108625. [PMID: 37364777 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Studies have shown that older adults with high Cognitive Reserve (HCR) exhibit better executive functioning than their low CR (LCR) counterparts. However, the neural processes linked to those differences are unclear. This study investigates (1) the neural processes underlying executive functions in older adults with HCR compared to older adults with LCR and (2) how executive control differences between HCR and LCR groups are modulated by increased task difficulty. We recruited 74 participants (37 in each group) with diverse CR levels, as determined by a standardised CR questionnaire. Participants performed two executive control tasks with lower and higher difficulty levels (i.e., Simon and spatial Stroop tasks, respectively) while recording the electroencephalogram. The accuracy on both tasks requiring inhibition of irrelevant information was better in the HCR than the LCR group. Also, in the task with higher difficulty level (i.e., the spatial Stroop task), event-related potential (ERP) latencies associated with inhibition (i.e., frontal N200) and updating of working memory (i.e., P300) were earlier in HCR than LCR. Moreover, the HCR, but not the LCR group, showed larger P300 amplitude in parietal than frontal regions and in the left than right hemisphere, suggesting a posterior to anterior shift of activity and loss of inter-hemispheric asymmetries in LCR participants. These results suggest that high CR counteracts neural activity changes related to ageing. Thus, high levels of CR may be related to maintenance of neural activity patterns typically observed in young adults rather than to deployment of neural compensatory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Cespón
- BCBL Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language, Mikeletegi Pasealekua, 69, Donostia/San Sebastián, 20009, Spain.
| | - Irina Chupina
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Manuel Carreiras
- BCBL Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language, Mikeletegi Pasealekua, 69, Donostia/San Sebastián, 20009, Spain; Ikerbasque. Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain; University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Bilbao, Spain
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3
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Hopkins WD, Li X, Roberts N, Mulholland MM, Sherwood CC, Edler MK, Raghanti MA, Schapiro SJ. Age differences in cortical thickness and their association with cognition in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Neurobiol Aging 2023; 126:91-102. [PMID: 36958104 PMCID: PMC10106435 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Humans and chimpanzees are genetically similar and share a number of life history, behavioral, cognitive and neuroanatomical similarities. Notwithstanding, our understanding of age-related changes in cognitive and motor functions in chimpanzees remains largely unstudied despite recent evident demonstrating that chimpanzees exhibit many of the same neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease observed in human postmortem brains. Here, we examined age-related differences in cognition and cortical thickness measured from magnetic resonance images in a sample of 215 chimpanzees ranging in age between 9 and 54 years. We found that chimpanzees showed global and region-specific thinning of cortex with increasing age. Further, within the elderly cohort, chimpanzees that performed better than average had thicker cortex in frontal, temporal and parietal regions compared to chimpanzees that performed worse than average. Independent of age, we also found sex differences in cortical thickness in 4 brain regions. Males had higher adjusted cortical thickness scores for the caudal anterior cingulate, rostral anterior cingulate, and medial orbital frontal while females had higher values for the inferior parietal cortex. We found no evidence that increasing age nor sex was associated with asymmetries in cortical thickness. Moreover, age-related differences in cognitive function were only weakly associated with asymmetries in cortical thickness. In summary, as has been reported in humans and other primates, elderly chimpanzees show thinner cortex and variation in cortical thickness is associated with general cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX.
| | - Xiang Li
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Neil Roberts
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Michele M Mulholland
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Melissa K Edler
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX; Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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4
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Zhao Y, Liu P, Turner MP, Abdelkarim D, Lu H, Rypma B. The neural-vascular basis of age-related processing speed decline. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13845. [PMID: 34115388 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Most studies examining neurocognitive aging are based on the blood-oxygen level-dependent signal obtained during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The physiological basis of this signal is neural-vascular coupling, the process by which neurons signal cerebrovasculature to dilate in response to an increase in active neural metabolism due to stimulation. These fMRI studies of aging rely on the hemodynamic equivalence assumption that this process is not disrupted by physiologic deterioration associated with aging. Studies of neural-vascular coupling challenge this assumption and show that neural-vascular coupling is closely related to cognition. In this review, we put forward a theory of processing speed decline in aging and how it is related to age-related neural-vascular coupling changes based on the results of studies elucidating the relationships between cognition, cerebrovascular dynamics, and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuguang Zhao
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Peiying Liu
- School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Monroe P Turner
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Dema Abdelkarim
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Hanzhang Lu
- School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Bart Rypma
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
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5
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Vidal-Piñeiro D, Sneve MH, Amlien IK, Grydeland H, Mowinckel AM, Roe JM, Sørensen Ø, Nyberg LH, Walhovd KB, Fjell AM. The Functional Foundations of Episodic Memory Remain Stable Throughout the Lifespan. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:2098-2110. [PMID: 33251549 PMCID: PMC7945016 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that specific forms of cognition in older age rely largely on late-life specific mechanisms. Here instead, we tested using task-fMRI (n = 540, age 6–82 years) whether the functional foundations of successful episodic memory encoding adhere to a principle of lifespan continuity, shaped by developmental, structural, and evolutionary influences. We clustered regions of the cerebral cortex according to the shape of the lifespan trajectory of memory activity in each region so that regions showing the same pattern were clustered together. The results revealed that lifespan trajectories of memory encoding function showed a continuity through life but no evidence of age-specific mechanisms such as compensatory patterns. Encoding activity was related to general cognitive abilities and variations of grey matter as captured by a multi-modal independent component analysis, variables reflecting core aspects of cognitive and structural change throughout the lifespan. Furthermore, memory encoding activity aligned to fundamental aspects of brain organization, such as large-scale connectivity and evolutionary cortical expansion gradients. Altogether, we provide novel support for a perspective on memory aging in which maintenance and decay of episodic memory in older age needs to be understood from a comprehensive life-long perspective rather than as a late-life phenomenon only.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didac Vidal-Piñeiro
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - Markus H Sneve
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - Inge K Amlien
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - Håkon Grydeland
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - Athanasia M Mowinckel
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - James M Roe
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - Øystein Sørensen
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway
| | - Lars H Nyberg
- Umeå Centre for Functional Brain Imaging, S-90187 Umeå, Sweden.,Physiology Section, Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, S-90187 Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Radiation Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Umeå University, S-90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Kristine B Walhovd
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway.,Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 04024 Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders M Fjell
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo 0317, Norway.,Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 04024 Oslo, Norway
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6
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Roe JM, Vidal-Piñeiro D, Sørensen Ø, Brandmaier AM, Düzel S, Gonzalez HA, Kievit RA, Knights E, Kühn S, Lindenberger U, Mowinckel AM, Nyberg L, Park DC, Pudas S, Rundle MM, Walhovd KB, Fjell AM, Westerhausen R. Asymmetric thinning of the cerebral cortex across the adult lifespan is accelerated in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Commun 2021; 12:721. [PMID: 33526780 PMCID: PMC7851164 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21057-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with progressive brain disorganization. Although structural asymmetry is an organizing feature of the cerebral cortex it is unknown whether continuous age- and AD-related cortical degradation alters cortical asymmetry. Here, in multiple longitudinal adult lifespan cohorts we show that higher-order cortical regions exhibiting pronounced asymmetry at age ~20 also show progressive asymmetry-loss across the adult lifespan. Hence, accelerated thinning of the (previously) thicker homotopic hemisphere is a feature of aging. This organizational principle showed high consistency across cohorts in the Lifebrain consortium, and both the topological patterns and temporal dynamics of asymmetry-loss were markedly similar across replicating samples. Asymmetry-change was further accelerated in AD. Results suggest a system-wide dedifferentiation of the adaptive asymmetric organization of heteromodal cortex in aging and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M. Roe
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Didac Vidal-Piñeiro
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Øystein Sørensen
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Andreas M. Brandmaier
- grid.419526.d0000 0000 9859 7917Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sandra Düzel
- grid.419526.d0000 0000 9859 7917Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Rogier A. Kievit
- grid.5335.00000000121885934MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ethan Knights
- grid.5335.00000000121885934MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Simone Kühn
- grid.419526.d0000 0000 9859 7917Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany ,grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ulman Lindenberger
- grid.419526.d0000 0000 9859 7917Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany ,grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Athanasia M. Mowinckel
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars Nyberg
- grid.12650.300000 0001 1034 3451Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging and Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Denise C. Park
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas, Dallas, TX USA
| | - Sara Pudas
- grid.12650.300000 0001 1034 3451Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging and Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Kristine B. Walhovd
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ,grid.55325.340000 0004 0389 8485Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders M. Fjell
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ,grid.55325.340000 0004 0389 8485Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - René Westerhausen
- grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Unmasking the relevance of hemispheric asymmetries—Break on through (to the other side). Prog Neurobiol 2020; 192:101823. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Chen Q, Xia Y, Zhuang K, Wu X, Liu G, Qiu J. Decreased inter-hemispheric interactions but increased intra-hemispheric integration during typical aging. Aging (Albany NY) 2019; 11:10100-10115. [PMID: 31761785 PMCID: PMC6914428 DOI: 10.18632/aging.102421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Normal aging is known to be accompanied by decreased segregation across the whole-brain functional network, which is associated with cognitive decline. Although compelling evidence supports reduced segregation and increased integration in whole-brain functional connectivity with aging, the age effect on the reorganization of large-scale functional networks at the hemispheric level remains unclear. Here, we aimed to examine age-related differences in inter-hemispheric interactions and intra-hemispheric integration by using resting-state functional MRI data of a healthy adult lifespan sample. The results showed that age-related decreases in inter-hemispheric integration were found in entire functional networks in both hemispheres, except for the sensorimotor network (SMN) and posterior default mode network (DMN). Specifically, aging was accompanied by increasing inter-hemispheric segregation in the left frontoparietal network (FPN) and left ventral attention network (VAN), as well as right-brain networks located in the auditory network (AN), visual network (VN), and temporal parts of the DMN. Moreover, aging was associated with increasing intra-hemispheric integration within the bilateral VN and posterior DMN while decreasing intra-hemispheric integration within the right VAN. These remarkable changes with aging confirm that there are dynamic interactions between functional networks across the lifespan and provide a means of investigating the mechanisms of cognitive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qunlin Chen
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China.,School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yunman Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Kaixiang Zhuang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China.,School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xinran Wu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China.,School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Guangyuan Liu
- College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jiang Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China.,School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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