Abstract
BackgroundIncreasing life expectancy necessitates the better understanding of the neurophysiological underpinnings of age-related cognitive changes. The majority of research examining structural-cognitive relationships in aging focuses on the role of age-related changes to grey matter integrity. In the current study, we examined the relationship between age-related changes in white matter and language production. More specifically, we concentrated on word-finding failures, which increase with age.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe used Diffusion tensor MRI (a technique used to image, in vivo, the diffusion of water molecules in brain tissue) to relate white matter integrity to measures of successful and unsuccessful picture naming. Diffusion tensor images were used to calculate Fractional Anisotropy (FA) images. FA is considered to be a measure of white matter organization/integrity. FA images were related to measures of successful picture naming and to word finding failures using voxel-based linear regression analyses. Successful naming rates correlated positively with white matter integrity across a broad range of regions implicated in language production. However, word finding failure rates correlated negatively with a more restricted region in the posterior aspect of superior longitudinal fasciculus.Conclusions/SignificanceThe use of DTI-MRI provides evidence for the relationship between age-related white matter changes in specific language regions and word finding failures in old age.
Highlights
With life expectancy increasing substantially it is becoming progressively more important to understand the neurophysiological underpinnings of age-related cognitive changes
Comparable Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI) studies [44] reported extensive Fractional Anisotropy (FA) decline with age and in keeping with those findings we observed a widespread pattern of agerelated FA decreases that were not uniform throughout the brain
Fronto-temporal FA decreases were more prominent in our data with FA in occipital areas appearing relatively spared from the aging process, suggesting an anteroposterior gradient in the effect of aging
Summary
With life expectancy increasing substantially it is becoming progressively more important to understand the neurophysiological underpinnings of age-related cognitive changes. Imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) enable us to study age-related physiological changes in vivo in parallel with age-related cognitive changes, establishing relationships between physiology and cognition. The majority of studies examining the relationship between agerelated changes in brain structure and cognition focus on grey matter (GM). Studies adopted practices from neuropsychology and used manual outlining of brain structures to assess changes across the lifespan and their impact on cognition [1]. Increasing life expectancy necessitates the better understanding of the neurophysiological underpinnings of age-related cognitive changes. We concentrated on word-finding failures, which increase with age
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