Abstract
The entorhinal cortex (EC) plays an essential role in age-related cognitive decline. However, the effect of functional connectivity (FC) changes between EC and other cerebral cortices on cognitive function remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the modulation of two interventions (cognitive training and aerobic exercise) on EC-FC in community-dwelling older adults. In total, 94 healthy older adults aged between 65 and 75 years were assigned to either the cognitive training or aerobic exercise group to receive 24 sessions over 12 weeks, or to a control group. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed at both baseline and 12-month follow-up. Compared to the cognitive training group, the aerobic exercise group showed greater EC-FC in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus, left angular gyrus, and right postcentral gyrus. Compared to the control group, the cognitive training group had a decreased EC-FC in the right hippocampus, right middle temporal gyrus, left angular gyrus, and right postcentral gyrus and an increased EC-FC in the bilateral pallidum, while the aerobic exercise group showed increased EC-FC between the right medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC), bilateral pallidum, and right precuneus. Baseline EC-FC in the mPFC was positively correlated with the visuospatial/constructional index score of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. In the cognitive training group, EC-FC value changes in the right hippocampus were negatively correlated with changes in the RBANS delayed memory index score, while in the aerobic exercise group, EC-FC value changes in the left angular gyrus were positively correlated with changes in the RBANS attention index score. These findings support the hypothesis that both cognitive training and aerobic exercise can modulate EC-FC in aging populations but through different neural pathways.
Highlights
Aging is accompanied with a decline in cognitive functions such as attention, processing speed, executive function, memory and reasoning (Drag and Bieliauskas, 2010)
The RBANS visuospatial/constructional index score showed a positive correlation with entorhinal cortex (EC)-functional connectivity (FC) in the right mPFC at baseline (r = 0.24, p = 0.02, no correction), after controlling for sex and years of education
We explored the relationships between the longitudinal EC-FC value changes and changes in the neuropsychological assessments (3 cognitive outcomes: the RBANS delayed memory index score, the RBANS attention index score, the RBANS visuospatial/constructional index score) by extracting the values of EC-FC Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) from the cluster showing significant time × group interaction (9 regions of interest (ROIs))
Summary
Aging is accompanied with a decline in cognitive functions such as attention, processing speed, executive function, memory and reasoning (Drag and Bieliauskas, 2010). The activity of memory-related regions, such as the frontal lobe, parietal lobe and bilateral hippocampus, is increased after cognitive training in healthy older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (Belleville et al, 2011). A 12-week moderate-intensity walking exercise can increase FC of the PCC/precuneus in individuals with MCI (Chirles et al, 2017) Both cognitive training and aerobic exercise can improve cognitive function, while the intrinsic mechanism of why older adults can benefit from cognitive training and aerobic exercise remains to be determined (Owen et al, 2010; ten Brinke et al, 2015)
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