Brain Network Connectivity Mediates Education-related Cognitive Performance in Healthy Elderly Adults
Brain Network Connectivity Mediates Education-related Cognitive Performance in Healthy Elderly Adults
复制标题
大脑网络连接介导健康老年人与教育相关的认知表现
DOI：
10.2174/1567205015666181022094158
复制
发表时间：
2019-01-01
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Zhang, Zhanjun
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chen, Yaojing;Qi, Di;Zhang, Zhanjun
背景：在与衰老和阿尔茨海默病相关的认知功能减退的保护因素中，受教育程度是最突出的因素之一。然而，教育对认知的保护作用背后的机制仍有待阐明。本研究旨在系统评价静息状态脑网络的功能连通性在教育认知保护效应中的作用。方法：对北京当地社区77名认知正常的老年受试者中国进行一系列神经心理测试和静息状态下的功能磁共振成像。通过独立成分分析，提取了6个与初级功能或复杂认知相关的静息态网络。结果：教育程度与一般心理状态、情景记忆、语言、注意、执行功能和视觉空间加工等复杂认知领域呈显著正相关，而与复杂认知相关的默认模式网络(DMN)和左额顶叶网络(LFP)中多个区域的认知功能呈显著负相关。DMN的区域连接性与情景记忆成绩呈显著负相关。进一步的中介分析表明，受教育程度越高，DMN的局部连通性越低，其情景记忆成绩越高。结论：与复杂认知相关的静息状态脑网络的抑制性调制是教育对正常衰老的认知起到保护作用的主要途径之一。
Background: Among the protective factors for cognitive decline related to aging and Alzheimer's disease, education level is one of the most prominent. However, the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of education on cognition remain to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to systematically assess the role of Functional Connectivity (FC) of resting-state brain networks playing in the cognition-protection effect of education.Methods: Data from a battery of neuropsychological tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging in resting-state were acquired in 77 cognitively normal elderly participants from local communities in Beijing, China. Six resting-state networks related to primary function or complex cognition were extracted through independent component analysis. We then explored the relationships between education level, cognition, and FC of these networks.Results: We found that education level was positively associated with a wide range of complex cognitive domains including general mental status, episodic memory, language, attention, executive function and visuospatial processing, and it showed significantly negative correlations with FC of multiple areas in the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Left Frontal-parietal Network (LFP) which are related to complex cognition. And regional connectivity of DMN was significantly negatively correlated with episodic memory performance. Further mediation analysis suggested that higher education level was associated with higher episodic memory performance through lower regional connectivity of DMN.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that inhibitory modulation in the resting-state brain networks related to complex cognition is one of the main routes through which education exerts its protective effects on cognition in normal aging.