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. 2020 Jul;10(7):e01652.
doi: 10.1002/brb3.1652. Epub 2020 May 27.

Alterations of local functional connectivity in lifespan: A resting-state fMRI study

Xin Wen  1 , Hui He  2 , Li Dong  2   3 , Junjie Chen  1 , Jie Yang  3 , Hao Guo  1 , Cheng Luo  2   3 , Dezhong Yao  2   3
Affiliations

Alterations of local functional connectivity in lifespan: A resting-state fMRI study

Xin Wen et al. Brain Behav. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: As aging attracted attention globally, revealing changes in brain function across the lifespan was largely concerned. In this study, we aimed to reveal the changes of functional networks of the brain (via local functional connectivity, local FC) in lifespan and explore the mechanism underlying them.

Materials and methods: A total of 523 healthy participants (258 males and 265 females) aged 18-88 years from part of the Cambridge Center for Ageing and Neuroscience (CamCAN) were involved in this study. Next, two data-driven measures of local FC, local functional connectivity density (lFCD) and four-dimensional spatial-temporal consistency of local neural activity (FOCA), were calculated, and then, general linear models were used to assess the changes of them in lifespan.

Results: Local functional connectivity (lFCD and FOCA) within visual networks (VN), sensorimotor network (SMN), and default mode network (DMN) decreased across the lifespan, while within basal ganglia network (BGN), local connectivity was increased across the lifespan. And, the fluid intelligence decreased within BGN while increased within VN, SMN, and DMN.

Conclusion: These results might suggest that the decline of executive control and intrinsic cognitive ability in the aging population was related to the decline of functional connectivity in VN, SMN, and DMN. Meanwhile, BGN might play a regulatory role in the aging process to compensate for the dysfunction of other functional systems. Our findings may provide important neuroimaging evidence for exploring the brain functional mechanism in lifespan.

Keywords: four-dimensional spatial-temporal consistency of local neural activity; lifespan; local functional connectivity; local functional connectivity density; resting-state fMRI.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Relationships between local functional connectivity (FOCA and lFCD) and age/age2. (a) Impact of age on local FC and (b) impact of age2 on local FC (cluster size > 30, p < .05, false discovery rate (FDR) correction). Red areas indicate that local FC increased significantly as age increased, while blue areas indicate the opposite. R stands for the right hemisphere of the brain, and L stands for the left hemisphere of the brain
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Relationships between local functional connectivity (FOCA and lFCD) and behavior scores (cluster size > 30 voxels; Cattell‐fluid intelligence, p < .05, FDR correction; RT_M, RT_SD‐average response time in response time tasks, intraindividual response time variability in response time tasks, p < .001, uncorrected). Red areas indicate that local FC decreased significantly as behavior scores decreased, while blue areas indicate the opposite. R stands for the right hemisphere of the brain, and L stands for the left hemisphere of the brain
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Illustration of the underlying mechanisms of four networks over the lifespan. As age increases, the local FCs within the VN, SMN, and DMN decreased (impairment), while those within the BGN increased (compensation). The behavior scores exhibited an inverted U‐shaped curve across the lifespan
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