| 1. |
- Giddaluru, Sudheer, et al.
(författare)
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Genetics of structural connectivity and information processing in the brain
- 2016
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Ingår i: Brain Structure and Function. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1863-2653 .- 1863-2661. ; 221:9, s. 4643-4661
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the genetic factors underlying brain structural connectivity is a major challenge in imaging genetics. Here, we present results from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of whole-brain white matter (WM) fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of microstructural coherence measured using diffusion tensor imaging. Data from independent GWASs of 355 Swedish and 250 Norwegian healthy adults were integrated by meta-analysis to enhance power. Complementary GWASs on behavioral data reflecting processing speed, which is related to microstructural properties of WM pathways, were performed and integrated with WM FA results via multimodal analysis to identify shared genetic associations. One locus on chromosome 17 (rs145994492) showed genome-wide significant association with WM FA (meta P value = 1.87 × 10(-08)). Suggestive associations (Meta P value <1 × 10(-06)) were observed for 12 loci, including one containing ZFPM2 (lowest meta P value = 7.44 × 10(-08)). This locus was also implicated in multimodal analysis of WM FA and processing speed (lowest Fisher P value = 8.56 × 10(-07)). ZFPM2 is relevant in specification of corticothalamic neurons during brain development. Analysis of SNPs associated with processing speed revealed association with a locus that included SSPO (lowest meta P value = 4.37 × 10(-08)), which has been linked to commissural axon growth. An intergenic SNP (rs183854424) 14 kb downstream of CSMD1, which is implicated in schizophrenia, showed suggestive evidence of association in the WM FA meta-analysis (meta P value = 1.43 × 10(-07)) and the multimodal analysis (Fisher P value = 1 × 10(-07)). These findings provide novel data on the genetics of WM pathways and processing speed, and highlight a role of ZFPM2 and CSMD1 in information processing in the brain.
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| 2. |
- Nyberg, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal evidence for diminished frontal-cortex function in aging
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 107:52, s. 22682-22686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cross-sectional estimates of age-related changes in brain structure and function were compared with 6-y longitudinal estimates. The results indicated increased sensitivity of the longitudinal approach as well as qualitative differences. Critically, the cross-sectional analyses were suggestive of age-related frontal overrecruitment, whereas the longitudinal analyses revealed frontal underrecruitment with advancing age. The cross-sectional observation of overrecruitment reflected a select elderly sample. However, when followed over time, this sample showed reduced frontal recruitment. These findings dispute inferences of true age changes on the basis of age differences, hence challenging some contemporary models of neurocognitive aging, and demonstrate age-related decline in frontal brain volume as well as functional response.
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| 3. |
- Salami, Alireza, et al.
(författare)
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Age-related white matter microstructural differences partly mediate age-related decline in processing speed but not cognition
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease. - : Elsevier. - 0925-4439 .- 1879-260X. ; 1822:3, s. 408-415
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aging is associated with declining cognitive performance as well as structural changes in brain gray and white matter (WM). The WM deterioration contributes to a disconnection among distributed brain networks and may thus mediate age-related cognitive decline. The present diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study investigated age-related differences in WM microstructure and their relation to cognition (episodic memory, visuospatial processing, fluency, and speed) in a large group of healthy subjects (n = 287) covering 6 decades of the human life span. Age related decreases in fractional anisotropy (FA) and increases in mean diffusivity (MD) were observed across the entire WM skeleton as well as in specific WM tracts, supporting the WM degeneration hypothesis. The anterior section of the corpus callosum was more susceptible to aging compared to the posterior section, lending support to the anterior-posterior gradient of WM integrity in the corpus callosum. Finally, and of critical interest. WM integrity differences were found to mediate age-related reductions in processing speed but no significant mediation was found for episodic memory, visuospatial ability, or fluency. These findings suggest that compromised WM integrity is not a major contributing factor to declining cognitive performance in normal aging. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Imaging Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative disease.
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| 4. |
- Jonasson, Lars S., et al.
(författare)
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Dopamine release in nucleus accumbens during rewarded task switching measured by [C-11]raclopride
- 2014
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Ingår i: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier BV. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 99, s. 357-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reward and motivation have positive influences on cognitive-control processes in numerous settings. Models of reward implicate corticostriatal loops and the dopamine (DA) system, with special emphasis on D-2 receptors in nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In this study, 11 right-handed males (35-40 years) were scanned with positron emission tomography (PET) in a single [C-11]raclopride dynamic scan during rewarded and non-rewarded task switching. Rewarded task switching (relative to baseline task switching) decreased [11C]raclopride binding in NAcc. Decreasing NAcc [C-11]raclopride binding was strongly associated with task reaction time measures that reflect individual differences in effort and control strategies. Voxelwise analyses additionally revealed reward-related DA release in anterodorsal caudate, a region previously associated with task-switching. These PET findings provide evidence for striatal DA release during motivated cognitive control, and further suggest that NAcc DA release predicts the task reaction time benefits of reward incentives.
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| 5. |
- Pudas, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Brain characteristics of individuals resisting age-related cognitive decline over two decades
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Neuroscience. - 0270-6474 .- 1529-2401. ; 33:20, s. 8668-8677
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Some elderly appear to resist age-related decline in cognitive functions, but the neural correlates of successful cognitive aging are not well known. Here, older human participants from a longitudinal study were classified as successful or average relative to the mean attrition-corrected cognitive development across 15-20 years in a population-based sample (n = 1561). Fifty-one successful elderly and 51 age-matched average elderly (mean age: 68.8 years) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing an episodic memory face-name paired-associates task. Successful older participants had higher BOLD signal during encoding than average participants, notably in the bilateral PFC and the left hippocampus (HC). The HC activation of the average, but not the successful, older group was lower than that of a young reference group (n = 45, mean age: 35.3 years). HC activation was correlated with task performance, thus likely contributing to the superior memory performance of successful older participants. The frontal BOLD response pattern might reflect individual differences present from young age. Additional analyses confirmed that both the initial cognitive level and the slope of cognitive change across the longitudinal measurement period contributed to the observed group differences in BOLD signal. Further, the differences between the older groups could not be accounted for by differences in brain structure. The current results suggest that one mechanism behind successful cognitive aging might be preservation of HC function combined with a high frontal responsivity. These findings highlight sources for heterogeneity in cognitive aging and may hold useful information for cognitive intervention studies.
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| 6. |
- Salami, Alireza, et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal Evidence for Dissociation of Anterior and Posterior MTL Resting-State Connectivity in Aging : Links to Perfusion and Memory
- 2016
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 26:10, s. 3953-3963
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neuroimaging studies of spontaneous signal fluctuations as measured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging have revealed age-related alterations in the functional architecture of brain networks. One such network is located in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), showing structural and functional variations along the anterior-posterior axis. Past cross-sectional studies of MTL functional connectivity (FC) have yielded discrepant findings, likely reflecting the fact that specific MTL subregions are differentially affected in aging. Here, using longitudinal resting-state data from 198 participants, we investigated 5-year changes in FC of the anterior and posterior MTL. We found an opposite pattern, such that the degree of FC within the anterior MTL declined after age 60, whereas elevated FC within the posterior MTL was observed along with attenuated posterior MTL-cortical connectivity. A significant negative change-change relation was observed between episodic-memory decline and elevated FC in the posterior MTL. Additional analyses revealed age-related cerebral blood flow (CBF) increases in posterior MTL at the follow-up session, along with a positive relation of elevated FC and CBF, suggesting that elevated FC is a metabolically demanding alteration. Collectively, our findings indicate that elevated FC in posterior MTL along with increased local perfusion is a sign of brain aging that underlie episodic-memory decline.
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| 7. |
- Backman, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Dopamine and training-related working-memory improvement
- 2013
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Ingår i: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. - : Elsevier. - 0149-7634 .- 1873-7528. ; 37:9, s. 2209-2219
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Converging evidence indicates that the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) is implicated in working-memory (WM) functioning and that WM is trainable. We review recent work suggesting that DA is critically involved in the ability to benefit from WM interventions. Functional MRI studies reveal increased striatal BOLD activity following certain forms of WM interventions, such as updating training. Increased striatal BOLD activity has also been linked to transfer of learning to non-trained WM tasks, suggesting a neural signature of transfer. The striatal BOLD signal is partly determined by DA activity. Consistent with this assertion, PET research demonstrates increased striatal DA release during updating of information in WM after training. Genetic studies indicate larger increases in WM performance post training for those who carry advantageous alleles of DA-relevant genes. These patterns of results corroborate the role of DA in WM improvement. Future research avenues include: (a) neuromodulatory correlates of transfer; (b) the potential of WM training to enhance DA release in older adults; (c) comparisons among different WM processes (i.e., updating, switching, inhibition) regarding regional patterns of training-related DA release; and (d) gene-gene interactions in relation to training-related WM gains.
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| 8. |
- Habib, Reza, et al.
(författare)
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Neural Correlates of Availability and Accessibility in Memory
- 2008
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press. - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 8:7, s. 1720-1726
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Failure to remember can be due to not having information available in memory or to an inability to access information that is available. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain responses during encoding and successive cued recall and associative recognition tests of paired associates. Items were classified into 3 categories based on performance on the 2 retrieval tests: 1) successfully remembered (both recalled and recognized), 2) inaccessible (not recalled but later recognized), and 3) forgotten (neither recalled nor recognized). During cued recall, availability in memory was signaled in a network of regions including bilateral medial temporal lobe, left middle temporal cortex, and the parietal cortex. Memory access resulted in heightened activity in these regions as well as in left inferior frontal cortex. Encoding-related activity in hippocampus and inferior temporal cortex predicted subsequent availability and left inferior frontal activity predicted subsequent access. These results suggest that failure to access information that is available in memory may reflect weaker memory representations.
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| 9. |
- Karlsson, Sari, et al.
(författare)
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Modulation of striatal dopamine D1 binding by cognitive processing
- 2009
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Ingår i: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 48:2, s. 398-404
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is strong evidence that dopamine (DA) is implicated in higher-order cognitive functioning, but it remains controversial whether D1 receptor binding can be modified by cognitive activity. We examined striatal D1 binding potential (BP) in 20 younger (22-30 years) and 20 older (65-75 years) persons who underwent two [(11)C] SCH 23390 PET measurements, one while resting and one while performing a cognitive task taxing inhibitory functioning. The younger persons showed significant task-related BP reductions in sensorimotor, limbic, and associative striatum during cognitive activity compared to rest. Older persons showed no reliable BP reductions in any striatal subregion. These findings demonstrate that D1 receptor binding can be modified by cognitive activity in younger persons, but also provide novel evidence for the notion that human aging is associated not only with lower DA receptor density but also with altered modifiability of the DA system.
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| 10. |
- Nevalainen, Nina, et al.
(författare)
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COBRA : A prospective multimodal imaging study of dopamine, brain structure and function, and cognition.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Brain Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-8993 .- 1872-6240. ; 1612, s. 83-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cognitive decline is a characteristic feature of normal human aging. Previous work has demonstrated marked interindividual variability in onset and rate of decline. Such variability has been linked to factors such as maintenance of functional and structural brain integrity, genetics, and lifestyle. Still, few, if any, studies have combined a longitudinal design with repeated multimodal imaging and a comprehensive assessment of cognition as well as genetic and lifestyle factors. The present paper introduces the Cognition, Brain, and Aging (COBRA) study, in which cognitive performance and brain structure and function are measured in a cohort of 181 older adults aged 64 to 68 years at baseline. Participants will be followed longitudinally over a 10-year period, resulting in a total of three equally spaced measurement occasions. The measurement protocol at each occasion comprises a comprehensive set of behavioral and imaging measures. Cognitive performance is evaluated via computerized testing of working memory, episodic memory, perceptual speed, motor speed, implicit sequence learning, and vocabulary. Brain imaging is performed using positron emission tomography with [(11)C]-raclopride to assess dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used for assessment of white and gray-matter integrity and cerebrovascular perfusion, and functional MRI maps brain activation during rest and active task conditions. Lifestyle descriptives are collected, and blood samples are obtained and stored for future evaluation. Here, we present selected results from the baseline assessment along with a discussion of sample characteristics and methodological considerations that determined the design of the study.
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