Decreased cingulo-opercular network functional connectivity mediates the impact of aging on visual processing speed

Abstract

The neural factors that account for the visual processing-speed reduction in aging are incompletely understood. Based on previous reports of age-related decreases in the intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) within the cingulo-opercular network and its relevance for processing speed, we hypothesized that these decreases are associated with age-related reductions in visual processing speed. We used a whole-report task and modeling based on Bundesen's 'theory of visual attention' to parameterize visual processing speed in 91 healthy participants from 20 to 77 years old. iFC was estimated using independent-component analysis of resting-state fMRI data. From the clusters within the cingulo-opercular network exhibiting age-related decreased iFC, we found a cluster in the left insula to be particularly associated with visual processing speed and to mediate the age effect on visual speed. This mediation was not observed for age-related decreased iFC in other networks or for other attentional parameters. Our results point to the iFC in the cingulo-opercular network, represented by the left insula, as being a relevant marker for visual processing-speed changes in aging.Next, we performed two lines of control analysis. First, we checked whether the association between the cingulo-opercular network and visual processing speed is a specific one, as hypothesized, rather than being part of a more global relationship between changes in iFC and visual attention functions in general. That is, given the well-documented age-related decreases in iFC in the default-mode and dorsal-attention networks (see, e.g., Andrews-Hanna et al., 2007;Damoiseaux et al., 2008;Ferreira and Busatto, 2013), age-related reductions in visual processing speed might conceivably be associated with a general age-related decrease of iFC, rather than with that of the cingulo-opercular network exclusively. To check for this, (a) we examined whether visual processing speed C also relates to the iFC in other networks; and (b) we assessed whether the iFC in the cingulo-opercular network relates to other visual attention functions previously reported to change with aging, such as the visual perceptual threshold and VSTM storage capacity (see, e.g., McAvinue et al., 2012).Second, we controlled for potentially relevant confounds in the association between iFC in the cingulo-opercular network and visual processing speed. In particular, given that iFC in the cinguloopercular network has previously been found to be related to anxiety (see, e.g., Seeley et al., 2007) and anxiety level might in turn affect processing speed, we controlled for anxiety using the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI;Laux et al., 1981;Spielberger et al., 1970). Two other potential confounds

Earlier onset of menstruation is related to increased body mass index in adulthood and altered functional correlations between visual, task control and somatosensory brain networks

“…77 Visual processing speed is highly correlated with cingulo-opercular activity. 78 The present analysis showed an inverse relationship between age at onset of menstruation and adult BMI on functional correlations between the cingulo-opercular network and the primary visual network. Similar to the relationship between the somatosensory network and the visual network, individuals who went through puberty early showed decreased connectivity between the cingulo-opercular and primary visual network with increasing BMI.…”

The Role of Resting-State Network Functional Connectivity in Cognitive Aging

“…He et al (2014) showed that gray matter volume of the insular cortices and the dorsal anterior cingulate, major hubs in the CON network, as well as the functional connectivity of the left insula cortex were associated with scores on the Mini-Mental Status Examination in their sample of older adults. The resting-state functional connectivity of the left insula specifically has also been shown to mediate the association between age and visual processing speed in healthy older adults (Ruiz-Rizzo et al, 2019). Greater CON resting-state connectivity may signify greater maintenance of structural integrity in these regions involved in fluid cognition.…”

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Classifying multiple sclerosis patients on the basis of SDMT performance using machine learning

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