Mapping aging-related brain structure and connectivity changes can be helpful for assessing physiological brain age (PBA), which is distinct from chronological age (CA) because genetic and environmental factors affect individuals differently. This study proposes an approach whereby structural and connectomic information can be combined to estimate PBA as an early biomarker of brain aging. In a cohort of 136 healthy adults, magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging are respectively used to measure cortical thickness over the entire cortical mantle as well as connectivity properties (mean connectivity density and mean fractional anisotropy) for white matter connections. Using multivariate regression, these measurements are then employed to (1) illustrate how CA can be predicated--and thereby also how PBA can be estimated--and to conclude that (2) healthy aging is associated with significant connectome changes during adulthood. Our study illustrates a connectomically-informed statistical approach to PBA estimation, with potential applicability to the clinical identification of patients who exhibit accelerated brain aging, and who are consequently at higher risk for developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11682-014-9321-0 | DOI Listing |
Alzheimers Dement
January 2025
Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona, Spain.
Introduction: Traditional multivariate methods for neuroimaging studies overlook the interdependent relationship between brain features. This study addresses this gap by analyzing relative brain volumetric patterns to capture how Alzheimer's disease (AD) and genetics influence brain structure along the disease continuum.
Methods: This study analyzed data from participants across the AD continuum from the Alzheimer's and Families (ALFA) and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) studies.
Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) have emerged as a prominent tool for modeling cortical function, and yet their conventional architecture is lacking in physiological and anatomical fidelity. In particular, these models often fail to incorporate two crucial biological constraints: i) Dale's law, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Polycystins (PKD2, PKD2L1) are voltage-gated and Ca -modulated members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of ion channels. Loss of PKD2L1 expression results in seizure-susceptibility and autism-like features in mice, whereas variants in PKD2 cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Despite decades of evidence clearly linking their dysfunction to human disease and demonstrating their physiological importance in the brain and kidneys, the polycystin pharmacophore remains undefined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCo-existing neuropathological comorbidities have been repeatedly reported to be extremely common in subjects dying with dementia due to Alzheimer disease. As these are likely to be additive to cognitive impairment, and may not be affected by molecularly-specific AD therapeutics, they may cause significant inter-individual response heterogeneity amongst subjects in AD clinical trials. Furthermore, while originally noted for the oldest old, recent reports have now documented high neuropathological comorbidity prevalences in younger old AD subjects, who are more likely to be included in clinical trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurophotonics
January 2025
California Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, Pasadena, California, United States.
Significance: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) are key metrics for regional cerebrovascular monitoring. Simultaneous, non-invasive measurement of CBF and CBV at different brain locations would advance cerebrovascular monitoring and pave the way for brain injury detection as current brain injury diagnostic methods are often constrained by high costs, limited sensitivity, and reliance on subjective symptom reporting.
Aim: We aim to develop a multi-channel non-invasive optical system for measuring CBF and CBV at different regions of the brain simultaneously with a cost-effective, reliable, and scalable system capable of detecting potential differences in CBF and CBV across different regions of the brain.
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