Relationship of Lutein and Zeaxanthin Levels to Neurocognitive Functioning: An fMRI Study of Older Adults

AbstractObjectives:It is well known that the carotenoids lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) improve eye health and an accumulating evidence base suggests cognitive benefits as well. The present study investigated underlying neural mechanisms using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). It was hypothesized that lower L and Z concentrations would be associated with neurobiological inefficiency (i.e., increased activation) during cognitive performance.Methods:Forty-three community-dwelling older adults (mean age=72 years; 58% female; 100% Caucasian) were asked to learn and recall pairs of unrelated words in an fMRI-adapted paradigm. L and Z levels were measured in retina (macular pigment optical density) and serum using validated procedures.Results:Following first-level contrasts of encoding and retrieval trials minus control trials (p<.05, family-wise error corrected, minimum voxel cluster=8), L and Z were found to significantly and negatively relate to blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in central and parietal operculum cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, planum polare, frontal and middle temporal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, postcentral gyrus, precentral gyrus, occipital cortex bilaterally, and cerebellar regions.Conclusions:To the authors’ knowledge, the present study represents the first attempt to investigate neural mechanisms underlying the relation of L and Z to cognition using fMRI. The observed results suggest that L and Z promote cognitive functioning in old age by enhancing neural efficiency. (JINS, 2017,23, 11–22)

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Ballroom Dancing Promotes Neural Activity in the Sensorimotor System: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2018/2024835 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Yingzhi Lu ◽

Qi Zhao ◽

Yingying Wang ◽

Chenglin Zhou

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Neural Activity ◽

Resting State ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Sensorimotor System ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Action Perception ◽

Ballroom Dancing ◽

Left Middle

Objective. This study aims at investigating differences in the spontaneous brain activity and functional connectivity in the sensorimotor system between ballroom dancers and nondancers, to further support the functional alteration in people with expertise. Materials and Methods. Twenty-three ballroom dancers and twenty-one matched novices with no dance experience were recruited in this study. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and seed-based functional connectivity, as methods for assessing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data, were used to reveal the resting-state brain function in these participants. Results. Compared to the novices, ballroom dancers showed increased ALFF in the left middle temporal gyrus, bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus. The ballroom dancers also demonstrated lower ALFF in the left lingual gyrus and altered functional connectivity between the inferior frontal gyrus and temporal, parietal regions. Conclusions. Our results indicated that ballroom dancers showed elevated neural activity in sensorimotor regions relative to novices and functional alterations in frontal-temporal and frontal-parietal connectivity, which may reflect specific training experience related to ballroom dancing, including high-capacity action perception, attentional control, and movement adjustment.

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Fronto-striatal Functional Connectivity Supports Reward-Enhanced Memory in Older Adults

10.1101/592501 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Holly J. Bowen ◽

Jaclyn H. Ford ◽

Cheryl L. Grady ◽

Julia Spaniol

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Neural Activation ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Age Related ◽

High Reward ◽

Neural Underpinnings

AbstractBoth younger and older adults prioritize reward-associated stimuli in memory, but there has been little research on possible age differences in the neural mechanisms mediating this effect. In the current study, we examine neural activation and functional connectivity in healthy younger and older adults to test the hypothesis that older adults would engage prefrontal regions to a greater extent in the service of reward-enhanced memory. While undergoing MRI, target stimuli were presented after high or low-reward cues. The cues indicated the reward value for successfully recognizing the stimulus on a memory test 24-hours later. We replicated prior findings that both older and younger and adults had better memory for high compared to low-reward stimuli. Critically, in older, but not younger adults, this enhanced subsequent memory for high-reward items was supported by greater connectivity between the caudate and bilateral inferior frontal gyrus. The findings add to the growing literature on motivation-cognition interactions in healthy aging, and provide novel evidence of an age-related shift in the neural underpinnings of reward-motivated encoding.

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Technology Use and Frailty for Community Dwelling Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Journal of the American Nurses Association - New York ◽

10.47988/janany.44473381.1.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Technology Use ◽

Independent Living ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Future Research ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

Frail Older Adults

Background: Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome defined as a state of increased vulnerability to acute stressors related to a decline in reserve. There is abundant literature on frailty interventions, however, the literature on technology as an intervention for frailty is scarce. Objectives: The purpose of this scoping review is to identify and summarize existing evidence on technology use as an intervention for frail older adults and to identify research gaps in the evidence base in order to inform future research. Methodology: This review utilized the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and a rigorous scoping review method to search the literature. A comprehensive search of computerized databases was conducted in July 2018 in the following databases published from 2013 to 2018: CINAHL, PubMed, and Academic Search Complete. Results: The database searches yielded a total of 183 articles. Forty-four duplicates were removed. There were 114 results excluded based on title and abstract ineligibility. Thirty-two relevant articles were retrieved for fulltext examination. Eighteen of the articles were excluded based on the inclusion or exclusion criteria. References of 14 included articles were hand-searched for relevant works to ensure completeness of the search. Four pertinent additional articles were identified. The final analysis included 18 articles. Discussion: Current research on technology use for frail older adults focuses on assessment and diagnosis. Methodological weaknesses limit generalizability and the validity of its findings. Few studies utilize frailty as an outcome measure, limiting available research directly related to frailty. Conclusion: More research is needed on the potential for technological tools as interventions for frailty in older adults living at home, specifically, to prevent pre-frailty and frailty. Keywords: frailty, frail elderly, aged, independent living, technology

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The Link between Estradiol and Neuroplasticity in Transgender Women after Gender-Affirming Surgery: A Bimodal Hypothesis

Neuroendocrinology ◽

10.1159/000502977 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 110 (6) ◽

pp. 489-500 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maiko A. Schneider ◽

Poli M. Spritzer ◽

Jee Su Suh ◽

Luciano Minuzzi ◽

Benicio N. Frey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Verbal Memory ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Transgender Women ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Time Points ◽

The Right ◽

The Impact

For transgender individuals, gender-affirming surgery (GAS) and cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) are part of the gender transition process. Scientific evidence supporting the maintenance of CSHT after GAS-related gonadectomy is accumulating. However, few data are available on the impact of CSHT on the brain structure following hypogonadism. Thus, we aimed to investigate links between estradiol and brain cortical thickness (CTh) and cognition in 18 post-gonadectomy transgender women using a longitudinal design. For this purpose, the participants underwent a voluntary period of CSHT washout of at least 30 days, followed by estradiol re-institution for 60 days. High-resolution T1-weighted brain images, hormonal measures, working and verbal memory were collected at 2 time points: on the last day of the washout (t1) and on the last day of the 2-month CSHT period (t2). Between these 2 time points, CTh increased within the left precentral gyrus and right precuneus but decreased within the right lateral occipital cortex. However, these findings did not survive corrections of multiple comparisons. Nevertheless, there was a significant negative correlation between changes in estradiol levels and changes in CTh. This effect was evident in the left superior frontal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus, the right precuneus, the right superior temporal gyrus, and the right pars opercularis. Although there was an improvement in verbal memory following hypogonadism correction, we did not observe a significant relationship between changes in memory scores and CTh. Altogether, these findings suggest that there is a link between estradiol and CTh.

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Altered neural activities during response inhibition in adults with addiction: a voxel-wise meta-analysis

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291721000362 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Zeguo Qiu ◽

Junjing Wang

Keyword(s):

Response Inhibition ◽

Substance Dependence ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Behavioral Addiction ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Meta Analyses

Abstract Background Previous literature has extensively investigated the brain activity during response inhibition in adults with addiction. Inconsistent results including both hyper- and hypo-activities in the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and the ventral attention network (VAN) have been found in adults with addictions, compared with healthy controls (HCs). Methods Voxel-wise meta-analyses of abnormal task-evoked regional activity were conducted for adults with substance dependence (SD) and behavioral addiction during response inhibition tasks to solve previous inconsistencies. Twenty-three functional magnetic resonance imaging studies including 479 substance users, 38 individuals with behavioral addiction and 494 HCs were identified. Results Compared with HCs, all addictions showed hypo-activities in regions within FPN (inferior frontal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus) and VAN (inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, temporal pole and insula), and hyper-activities in the cerebellum during response inhibition. SD subgroup showed almost the same activity patterns, with an additional hypoactivation of the precentral gyrus, compared with HCs. Stronger activation of the cerebellum was associated with longer addiction duration for adults with SD. We could not conduct meta-analytic investigations into the behavioral addiction subgroup due to the small number of datasets. Conclusion This meta-analysis revealed altered activation of FPN, VAN and the cerebellum in adults with addiction during response inhibition tasks using non-addiction-related stimuli. Although FPN and VAN showed lower activity, the cerebellum exhibited stronger activity. These results may help to understand the neural pathology of response inhibition in addiction.

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Divergence and convergence of cortical encoding during word reading in bilinguals

10.1101/2021.11.25.470068 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shujie Geng ◽

Wanwan Guo ◽

Kunyu Xu ◽

Tianye Jia ◽

Wei Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Word Reading ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Writing Systems ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Cognitive Components ◽

Neural Representations ◽

Core Language

Word reading includes a series of cognitive processes that convert low-level visual characteristics to neural representations. However, the consistency of the neural mechanisms for processing these cognitive components across different writing systems in bilinguals remains inconclusive. Here, we explored this question by employing representational similarity analysis with a semantic access task involving Chinese words, English words and Chinese pinyin. Divergent spatial distribution patterns were detected for each type of brain representation across ideographic and alphabetic languages, resulting in 100% classification accuracy. Meanwhile, convergent cognitive components processing was found in the core language-related regions in left hemisphere, including the inferior frontal gyrus, temporal pole, superior and middle temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus and supplementary motor areas. Broadly, our findings indicated that the neural basis for word recognition of different writing systems in bilinguals was divergent in spatial locations of neural representations but convergent in functions, which supported and enriched the assimilation-accommodation hypothesis.

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Altered Spontaneous Neural Activity and Functional Connectivity in Parkinson’s Disease With Subthalamic Microlesion

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2021.699010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Bei Luo ◽

Yue Lu ◽

Chang Qiu ◽

Wenwen Dong ◽

Chen Xue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Angular Gyrus ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Precentral Gyrus

BackgroundTransient improvement in motor symptoms are immediately observed in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) after an electrode has been implanted into the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for deep brain stimulation (DBS). This phenomenon is known as the microlesion effect (MLE). However, the underlying mechanisms of MLE is poorly understood.PurposeWe utilized resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to evaluate changes in spontaneous brain activity and networks in PD patients during the microlesion period after DBS.MethodOverall, 37 PD patients and 13 gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited for this study. Rs-MRI information was collected from PD patients three days before DBS and one day after DBS, whereas the HCs group was scanned once. We utilized the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) method in order to analyze differences in spontaneous whole-brain activity among all subjects. Furthermore, functional connectivity (FC) was applied to investigate connections between other brain regions and brain areas with significantly different ALFF before and after surgery in PD patients.ResultRelative to the PD-Pre-DBS group, the PD-Post-DBS group had higher ALFF in the right putamen, right inferior frontal gyrus, right precentral gyrus and lower ALFF in right angular gyrus, right precuneus, right posterior cingulate gyrus (PCC), left insula, left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), bilateral middle frontal gyrus and bilateral superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral). Functional connectivity analysis revealed that these brain regions with significantly different ALFF scores demonstrated abnormal FC, largely in the temporal, prefrontal cortices and default mode network (DMN).ConclusionThe subthalamic microlesion caused by DBS in PD was found to not only improve the activity of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit, but also reduce the activity of the DMN and executive control network (ECN) related brain regions. Results from this study provide new insights into the mechanism of MLE.

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Gait Speed Maintenance Is Associated With Sensorimotor and Frontoparietal Network Connectivity Among Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.2078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 544-545

Author(s):

Chun Liang Hsu ◽

Brad Manor ◽

Lewis Lipsitz

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Older Adults ◽

Gait Speed ◽

Network Connectivity ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Connectivity Pattern ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Mobility Impairment ◽

Frontoparietal Network

Abstract Mobility impairment is a geriatric giant. Particularly, slow gait is associated with elevated risk for cognitive decline, disabilities and dementia. Gait is the product of complex neural network interactions and changes in their connectivity pattern may negatively impact gait speed. However, mechanistic neural correlates for gait speed maintenance and decline remained unclear. As such, the aim of this study is to investigate differences in neural network connectivity in older adults with and without gait speed decline over 24 months. This sub-analysis included 35 community-dwelling older adults age >70 years from the MOBILIZE Boston Study. Baseline assessments included four-meter gait speed test and resting-state fMRI. Gait speed was reassessed at a 24-month follow-up. Participants were stratified to “Maintainer” and “Decliner” groups based upon a cut-off of >0.05 m/s decline in gait speed from baseline to follow-up. A priori selected functional network included sensori-motor network (SMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN). Multivariate analysis of variance was performed to determine between group differences in network connectivity. Discriminant analysis was conducted to identify relative contribution of network connectivity to group classification. Between the 14 Maintainers and 21 Decliners (mean age 83.9 years), Maintainers were younger (p=0.088). After adjusting for age, Maintainers exhibited lower SMN premotor-precentral gyrus connectivity (p=0.023), greater FPN ventral visual-supramarginal gyrus connectivity (p=0.025), and trend level greater SMN-FPN cerebellum-occipital connectivity (p=0.053). Premotor-precentral gyrus connectivity showed greatest contribution to discriminant function. These preliminary findings suggest aberrant connectivity patterns of the SMN and FPN may be predictive of older adults’ ability to maintain gait speed.

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Shared and Distinct Neuroanatomic Regions Critical for Tool-related Action Production and Recognition: Evidence from 131 Left-hemisphere Stroke Patients

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00876 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (12) ◽

pp. 2491-2511 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Leyla Y. Tarhan ◽

Christine E. Watson ◽

Laurel J. Buxbaum

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Neural Substrates ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Middle Temporal ◽

Impaired Performance ◽

Left Hemisphere Stroke

The inferior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobe have been characterized as human homologues of the monkey “mirror neuron” system, critical for both action production (AP) and action recognition (AR). However, data from brain lesion patients with selective impairment on only one of these tasks provide evidence of neural and cognitive dissociations. We sought to clarify the relationship between AP and AR, and their critical neural substrates, by directly comparing performance of 131 chronic left-hemisphere stroke patients on both tasks—to our knowledge, the largest lesion-based experimental investigation of action cognition to date. Using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping, we found that lesions to primary motor and somatosensory cortices and inferior parietal lobule were associated with disproportionately impaired performance on AP, whereas lesions to lateral temporo-occipital cortex were associated with a relatively rare pattern of disproportionately impaired performance on AR. In contrast, damage to posterior middle temporal gyrus was associated with impairment on both AP and AR. The distinction between lateral temporo-occipital cortex, critical for recognition, and posterior middle temporal gyrus, important for both tasks, suggests a rough gradient from modality-specific to abstract representations in posterior temporal cortex, the first lesion-based evidence for this phenomenon. Overall, the results of this large patient study help to bring closure to a long-standing debate by showing that tool-related AP and AR critically depend on both common and distinct left hemisphere neural substrates, most of which are external to putative human mirror regions.

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Dying to Belong: The Importance of Familiarity in Later Life

Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine ◽

10.1177/2333721420941976 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 233372142094197

Author(s):

Lucia Carragher ◽

Catherine Ryan

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Population Aging ◽

Later Life ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Community Services ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Services And Supports ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

Despite the large amount of research into loneliness, the evidence base around effective ways of tackling loneliness among older adults is limited. Up to one-half of all older adults regularly feel lonely, negatively impacting physical and mental health. In light of population aging, family dispersal, and in the aftermath of COVID-19, it is vital that we grow the evidence base around the lived experience of older people, knowing what they want and why, and ensuring community services and supports are meaningful to them. Method: Three focus groups were held with community-dwelling older adults in Ireland. Results: Loneliness is associated with the loss of familiarity and connection to community. Conclusions: Understanding loneliness in later life is increasingly important with population aging. As plans for ending confinement linked to COVID-19 are devised, a mechanism is urgently needed to sustain the positive changes to communities which have meaningfully connected with older adults.

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