Understanding the precise relation between functional connectivity and structural (white matter) connectivity and how these relationships account for cognitive changes in older adults are major challenges for neuroscience. We investigate these issues using an approach in which structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to integrate functional and structural connectivity data from younger and older adults ( n = 62), analyzed with a common framework based on regions connected by canonical tract groups (CTGs). CTGs (e.g., uncinate fasciculus) serve as a common currency between functional and structural connectivity matrices, and ensure equivalent sparsity in connectome information. We used this approach to investigate the neural mechanisms supporting memory for items and memory for associations, and how they are affected by healthy aging. We found that different structural and functional CTGs made independent contributions to source and item memory performance, suggesting that both forms of connectivity underlie age-related differences in specific forms of memory. Furthermore, the relationship between functional and structural connectivity was best explained by a general relationship between latent constructs—a relationship absent in any specific CTG group. These results provide insights into the relationship between structural and functional connectivity patterns, and elucidate their relative contribution to age-related differences in source memory performance.
Understanding the precise relation between functional connectivity and structural (whitematter) connectivity and how these relationships account for cognitive changes in older adults are major challenges for neuroscience. We investigate these issues using a new approach in which structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to integrate functional and structural connectivity data analyzed with a common framework based on regions connected by canonical tract groups (CTGs). CTGs (e.g., uncinate fasciculus, cingulum, etc.) serve as a common currency between functional and structural connectivity matrices, and ensures that the same amount of data contributing to brain-behavior relationships. We used this approach to investigate the neural mechanisms supporting memory for items and memory for associations, and how they are affected by healthy aging. Our results are threefold. Firstly, structural and functional CTGs made independent contributions to associative memory performance, suggesting that both forms of connectivity underlie agerelated changes in associative memory. Secondly, distinct groups of CTGs supported associative versus item memory. Lastly, the relationship between functional and structural connectivity was best explained by the relationship between latent variables describing functional and structural CTGs based on a constrained set of tracts-but no one specific CTG group-suggesting that age effects in connectivity are constrained to specific pathways.These results provide further insights into the interplay between structural and functional connectivity patterns, and help to elucidate their relative contribution to age-related changes in associative memory performance.peer-reviewed)
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