Decreased Fronto-Parietal and Increased Default Mode Network Activation is Associated with Subtle Cognitive Deficits in Elderly Controls
Davide Zanchi, Marie‐Louise Montandon, Indrit Sinanaj, Cristelle Rodriguez, Antoinette Depoorter, François R. Herrmann, Stefan Borgwardt, Pantéleimon Giannakopoulos, Sven Haller
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 62 |
| Population | Elderly individuals (41 females, 21 males) including 41 controls and 21 with mild cognitive impairment |
| Duration | 18-month follow-up |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Posterior cingulate Cognition Neuropsychology Audiology Insula Working memory Anterior cingulate cortex |
| Citations | 46 |
| Key findings | Functional brain changes in the fronto-parietal network and default mode network precede cognitive performance differences in healthy elderly individuals who later show subtle cognitive decline. |
Abstract
Background: Cognitive functions progressively deteriorate during aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The present study aims at investigating differences in working memory performance as well as functional brain changes during the earliest stages of cognitive decline in health elderly individuals.
Methods: 62 elderly individuals (41 females), including 41 controls (35 females) and 21 middle cognitive impairment subjects (6 females), underwent neuropsychological assessment at baseline and an fMRI examination in a N-back paradigm contrasting 2-back vs. 0-back condition. Upon a 18 months follow-up, we identified stable controls (sCON) with preserved cognition and deteriorating controls (dCON) with -1SD decrease of performances in at least two neuropsychological tests. Data analyses included accuracy and reaction time (RT) for the 2-back condition and general linear model (GLM) for the fMRI sequence.
Results: At the behavioral level, sCON and dCON performed better than MCI in terms of accuracy and reaction time. At the brain level, functional differences in regions of the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and of the Default Mode Network (DFM) were observed. Significantly lower neural activations in the bilateral inferior and middle frontal gyri were found in MCI versus both dCON / sCON and for dCON versus sCON. Significantly increased activations in the anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula were found in MCI versus both dCON / sCON and in dCON versus sCON.
Conclusion: The present study suggests that brain functional changes in FPN and DMN anticipate differences in cognitive performance in healthy elderly individuals with subsequent subtle cognitive decline.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |