Age- and gender-related differences in the cortical anatomical network.
Age- and gender-related differences in the cortical anatomical network.
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.2308-09.2009
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发表时间：
2009-12-16
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Evans AC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gong G;Rosa-Neto P;Carbonell F;Chen ZJ;He Y;Evans AC
由于年龄和性别导致的神经解剖学差异已经得到了很好的证明，这些差异可能与行为和认知表现的差异有关。然而，很少有人知道大脑皮层内的解剖连接的动态组织，这可能是大脑功能的人口差异的基础。在这项研究中，我们调查了年龄和性别对95名年龄从19岁到85岁的正常受试者的解剖连接模式的影响。使用来自扩散MRI纤维束成像的连通性概率，我们将大脑皮层表征为连接区域的加权网络。这种方法在区域水平上捕获每个受试者的解剖连接的潜在组织。先进的图论分析表明，由此产生的皮质网络表现出“小世界”特征，即在局部和全球范围内有效的信息传递。特别是，楔前叶和后扣带回一直被观察到作为中央连接的区域，独立于年龄和性别。进一步的分析显示，随着年龄的增长，整体皮质连接减少。底层网络组织也发生了变化，导致局部效率下降，老年人大脑的区域效率也从顶叶和枕叶转移到额叶和颞叶新皮层。此外，女性表现出更大的整体皮层连接性，其皮层网络的潜在组织更有效，无论是局部还是全局。不同性别之间的效率也存在着地区差异。我们的研究结果为衰老和性别的行为和认知差异的基础提供了新的见解。
Neuroanatomical differences due to aging and gender have been well documented and these differences may be associated with differences in behaviors and cognitive performance. However, little is known about the dynamic organization of anatomical connectivity within the cerebral cortex, which may underlie population differences in brain function. In this study, we investigated age- and sex- effects on the anatomical connectivity patterns of 95 normal subjects ranging in age from 19 to 85 years. Using the connectivity probability derived from diffusion MRI tractography, we characterized the cerebral cortex as a weighted network of connected regions. This approach captures the underlying organization of anatomical connectivity for each subject at a regional level. Advanced graph theoretical analysis revealed that the resulting cortical networks exhibited “small-world” character, i.e. efficient information transfer both at local and global scale. In particular, the precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus were consistently observed as centrally connected regions, independent of age and sex. Further analysis revealed a reduction in overall cortical connectivity with age. There were also changes in the underlying network organization that resulted in decreased local efficiency, and also a shift of regional efficiency from the parietal and occipital to frontal and temporal neocortex in older brains. In addition, women showed greater overall cortical connectivity and the underlying organization of their cortical networks was more efficient, both locally and globally. There were also distributed regional differences in efficiency between sexes. Our results provide new insights into the substrates that underlie behavioral and cognitive differences in aging and sex.