As our body ages, so too does our brain. But as new research examining brain function and structure goes to show, it is not a clear-cut story of decline. In fact, the brain undergoes a series of "synergistic" and “contradictory” changes that seek to counteract and compensate for structural decline.
“This supports a growing consensus that age-related brain changes are multifactorial and interconnected, rather than localized or isolated to a single modality,” researchers writing in the journal Research explain.
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The Aging Brain
As we age, the brain experiences a number of changes — neurons are lost, white matter deteriorates, and overall connectivity diminishes. These patterns are closely linked to cognitive decline and help explain why functions, such as memory and motor control, regress as we get older.
To study the process of aging, researchers have typically honed in on either brain function (using resting-state fMRI that measures brain signals during a period of inactivity) or brain structure (using sMRI that takes detailed pictures of the brain anatomy). In a new study, scientists at Shanxi University in China and Georgia State University in the U.S. have combined the two to create a more comprehensive picture of the aging process.
The team first examined the predictive capabilities of brain function (measured by brain functional network connectivity) and brain structure (measured by gray matter volume) separately, and then evaluated the predictive capabilities of both jointly. This was followed by an analysis investigating aging patterns.
“This design allows us to offer a more nuanced and integrative understanding of the neurobiological aging process,” the study’s authors wrote.
Predicting Chronological Age
The research was carried out on data collected by the U.K. Biobank — a vast database featuring information on the health, biology, and lifestyle of around half a million people. In total, more than 27,500 healthy middle-aged and older adults (49 to 76 years old) were included in the study.
The researchers accurately predicted participants' chronological age from brain function and structure, but models comparing gray matter volume were more accurate than those analyzing brain connectivity. This, they say, suggests that age-related structural changes may be more pronounced than age-related functional changes — a finding they point out is “consistent with existing knowledge.”
Still, looking at structure and function together was the most effective method of all and outperformed models that looked at just one of the two.
“Synergistic” And “Contradictory” Changes
A deeper look at the patterns associated with aging revealed a complex combination of “synergistic” and “contradictory” changes.
Aging was correlated with decreases in both brain functional network connectivity and gray matter volume in the cerebellum, frontal pole, paracingulate gyrus, and precuneus cortex — areas of the brain associated with motor control, sensory processing, emotional regulation, and higher-order cognition. The researchers described these as “synergistic” changes.
However, in other regions of the brain, the shrinking of gray matter was accompanied by an increase in brain functional network connectivity — a “contradictory” change that suggested the body compensates for structural decline by enhancing connectivity, helping to retain cognitive abilities and behavioral control as a person ages.
These “contradictory” changes were most notable in the occipital pole and lateral occipital cortex, areas associated with visual functions, fluid intelligence, and numerical processing.
“These findings collectively emphasize that brain aging is not a unidirectional degenerative process but rather involves dynamic adjustments and reconfigurations across specific networks and hemispheres, aimed at preserving functional stability and cognitive capacity for as long as possible,” the study’s authors explained.
“This contributes to ongoing efforts in aging and cognitive neuroscience to advance more personalized and preventative approaches to brain health monitoring,” the authors concluded.
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Article Sources
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- This article references information from a recent study published in Research: Joint Aging Patterns in Brain Function and Structure Revealed Using 27,793 Samples
