Cardiovascular and metabolic health is associated with functional brain connectivity in middle-aged and older adults: Results from the Human Connectome Project-Aging study.

Several cardiovascular and metabolic indicators, such as cholesterol and blood pressure have been associated with altered neural and cognitive health as well as increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in later life. In this cross-sectional study, we examined how an aggregate index of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factor measures was associated with correlation-based estimates of resting-state functional connectivity (FC) across a broad adult age-span (36-90+ years) from 930 volunteers in the Human Connectome Project Aging (HCP-A). Increased (i.

Associations between age, sex, APOE genotype, and regional vascular physiology in typically aging adults.

Altered blood flow in the human brain is characteristic of typical aging. However, numerous factors contribute to inter-individual variation in patterns of blood flow throughout the lifespan. To better understand the mechanisms behind such variation, we studied how sex and APOE genotype, a primary genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), influence associations between age and brain perfusion measures.

Mean Arterial Pressure and Cerebral Hemodynamics Across The Lifespan: A Cross-Sectional Study From Human Connectome Project-Aging.

Background: Cerebral perfusion is directly affected by systemic blood pressure, which has been shown to be negatively correlated with cerebral blood flow (CBF). The impact of aging on these effects is not fully understood.

Purpose: To determine whether the relationship between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and cerebral hemodynamics persists throughout the lifespan.