Altered Cingulate Cortex Functional Connectivity in Normal Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

PurposeResting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies revealed that the brain is organized into specialized networks constituted by regions that show a coherent fluctuation of spontaneous activity. Among these networks, the cingulate cortex appears to play a crucial role, particularly in the default mode network, the dorsal attention network and the salience network. In the present study, we mapped the functional connectivity (FC) pattern of different regions of the cingulate cortex: the anterior cingulate cortex, midcingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex/retro splenial cortex, which have been in turn divided into a total of 9 subregions. We compared FC patterns of the cingulate subregions in a sample of mild cognitive impairment patients and healthy elderly subjects.MethodsWe enrolled 19 healthy elders (age range: 61–72 y.o.) and 16 Mild cognitive impairment patients (age range 64–87 y.o.). All participants had comparable levels of education (8–10 years) and were neurologically examined to exclude visual and motor impairments, major medical conditions, psychiatric or neurological disorders and consumption of psychotropic drugs. The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment was performed according to Petersen criteria. Subjects were evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination, Frontal Assessment Battery, and prose memory (Babcock story) tests. In addition, with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, we investigated resting-state network activities.ResultsHealthy elderly, compared to mild cognitive impairment, showed significant increased level of FC for the ventral part of the anterior cingulate cortex in correspondence to the bilateral caudate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Moreover, for the midcingulate cortex the healthy elderly group showed increased levels of FC in the somatomotor region, prefrontal cortex, and superior parietal lobule. Meanwhile, the mild cognitive impairment group showed an increased level of FC for the superior frontal gyrus, frontal eye field and orbitofrontal cortex compared to the healthy elderly group.ConclusionOur findings indicate that cognitive decline observed in mild cognitive impairment patients damages the global FC of the cingulate cortex, supporting the idea that abnormalities in resting-state activities of the cingulate cortex could be a useful additional tool in order to better understand the brain mechanisms of MCI.

Reorganization of brain structural networks in aging: A longitudinal study

“…Concerning modularity structure, we found very similar modular arrangements at both timepoints, with only some differences in goal-directed behavior), motivation and reward processing (Bick et al, 2019;Cera et al, 2019;Grahn et al, 2008;Wilson, 2018).…”

“…Thus, this decrease in the anatomical connections between either left caudate or right midcingulate cortex and other regions of the brain would be expected to isolate these two regions and could explain the loss of these two nodes as connector hubs. Caudate is associated with different aspects of cognition, including motor and action planning, decision‐making (particularly, goal‐directed behavior), motivation and reward processing (Bick et al., 2019; Cera et al, 2019; Grahn et al., 2008; Wilson, 2018). Previous studies exploring age‐related changes in the caudate have shown associations with different cognitive domains, such as episodic memory (Fjell, Sneve, Storsve, et al., 2016; Rieckmann et al., 2018), instrumental learning (Perosa et al., 2020), cognitive flexibility (Verstynen et al., 2012), and reward processing (Bowen et al., 2020; Dhingra et al., 2020).…”

Robustness of sex-differences in functional connectivity over time in middle-aged marmosets

“…In the current marmoset RI data, the involvement of motor and premotor areas during training and testing may have led to improved cognitive flexibility in males, potentially through the integration of cognitive and physical control mechanisms 54 . Data on sex differences in motor region connectivity is limited, but greater functional connectivity has been observed in somatomotor regions, as well as the PFC, in a healthy group compared to patients suffering from mild cognitive impairment 55 , indicating that FC in this region could be a marker of healthy aging.…”

The Long-Term Effects of Acupuncture on Hippocampal Functional Connectivity in aMCI with Hippocampal Atrophy: A Randomized Longitudinal fMRI Study

“…[23] Granger causality analysis revealed that directed FC between the HP and the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, and cingulate cortex were significantly changed in MCI [24]. On the other hand, increased spontaneous brain activities and FC have also been revealed in the frontal and temporal cortex in aMCI patients [25,26]. These enhancements were thought to function as compensatory mechanisms due to cognitive deficits in aMCI.…”