Locus coeruleus MRI contrast is associated with cortical thickness in older adults

NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING

卷:100

Article

Bachman, Shelby L.^1,2  Dahl, Martin J.³  Werkle-Bergner, Markus³  Duezel, Sandra³  Forlim, Caroline Garcia⁴  Lindenberger, Ulman^3,5,6  Kuehn, Simone^4,7  Mather, Mara¹ 

[1] Univ Southern Calif, Davis Sch Gerontol, 3715 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA

[2] Humboldt Univ, Berlin Sch Mind & Brain, Berlin, Germany

[3] Max Planck Inst Human Dev, Ctr Lifespan Psychol, Berlin, Germany

[4] Univ Clin Hamburg Eppendorf, Dept Psychiat & Psychotherapy, Hamburg, Germany

[5] Max Planck Inst Human Dev, Max Planck UCL Ctr Computat Psychiat & Ageing Res, Berlin, Germany

[6] Max Planck UCL Ctr Computat Psychiat & Ageing Res, London, England

[7] Max Planck Inst Human Dev, Lise Meitner Grp Environm Neurosci, Berlin, Germany

关键词: Aging;    Brain structure;    Cortical thickness;    Frontoparietal network;    Locus coeruleus;    Norepinephrine;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.12.019

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

There is growing evidence that neuronal integrity of the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) is important for later-life cognition. Less understood is how LC integrity relates to brain correlates of cognition, such as brain structure. Here, we examined the relationship between cortical thickness and a measure reflecting LC integrity in 229 older and 67 younger adults. Using a magnetic resonance imaging sequence which yields high signal intensity in the LC, we assessed the contrast between signal intensity of the LC and that of neighboring pontine reference tissue. The FreeSurfer software suite was used to quantify cortical thickness. LC contrast was positively related to cortical thickness in older adults, and this association was prominent in parietal, frontal, and occipital regions. Brain regions where LC contrast was related to cortical thickness include portions of the frontoparietal network which have been implicated in noradrenergically modulated cognitive functions. These findings provide novel evidence for a link between LC structure and cortical brain structure in later adulthood. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free