RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Touchscreen-Based Cognitive Training Alters Functional Connectivity Patterns in Aged But Not Young Male Rats JF eneuro JO eNeuro FD Society for Neuroscience SP ENEURO.0329-22.2023 DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0329-22.2023 VO 10 IS 2 A1 Leslie S. Gaynor A1 Meena Ravi A1 Sabrina Zequeira A1 Andreina M. Hampton A1 Wonn S. Pyon A1 Samantha Smith A1 Luis M. Colon-Perez A1 Marjory Pompilus A1 Jennifer L. Bizon A1 Andrew P. Maurer A1 Marcelo Febo A1 Sara N. Burke YR 2023 UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/10/2/ENEURO.0329-22.2023.abstract AB Age-related cognitive decline is related to cellular and systems-level disruptions across multiple brain regions. Because age-related cellular changes within different structures do not show the same patterns of dysfunction, interventions aimed at optimizing function of large-scale brain networks may show greater efficacy at improving cognitive outcomes in older adults than traditional pharmacotherapies. The current study aimed to leverage a preclinical rat model of aging to determine whether cognitive training in young and aged male rats with a computerized paired-associates learning (PAL) task resulted in changes in global resting-state functional connectivity. Moreover, seed-based functional connectivity was used to examine resting state connectivity of cortical areas involved in object-location associative memory and vulnerable in old age, namely the medial temporal lobe (MTL; hippocampal cortex and perirhinal cortex), retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and frontal cortical areas (prelimbic and infralimbic cortices). There was an age-related increase in global functional connectivity between baseline and post-training resting state scans in aged, cognitively trained rats. This change in connectivity following cognitive training was not observed in young animals, or rats that traversed a track for a reward between scan sessions. Relatedly, an increase in connectivity between perirhinal and prelimbic cortices, as well as reduced reciprocal connectivity within the RSC, was found in aged rats that underwent cognitive training, but not the other groups. Subnetwork activation was associated with task performance across age groups. Greater global functional connectivity and connectivity between task-relevant brain regions may elucidate compensatory mechanisms that can be engaged by cognitive training.