I. Longitudinal changes in aging brain function

Neurobiol Aging. 2008 Apr;29(4):483-96. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.10.031. Epub 2006 Dec 20.

Abstract

Changes in brain activity over time were evaluated in a group of older adults in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who maintained good physical and cognitive health. Participants underwent PET scans during rest and delayed verbal and figural recognition memory performance at year 1 baseline and at year 9. While memory performance remained stable over the 8 years, longitudinal changes in regional cerebral blood flow were observed within each scan condition. Further analyses revealed distinctive patterns of change related specifically to verbal or figural recognition, as well as longitudinal changes common to all scan conditions. These findings demonstrate that the older brain undergoes functional reorganization with increasing age in healthy, cognitively stable individuals. In view of the stable memory performance, the task-dependent results suggest that age-related changes in brain activity help maintain cognitive function with advancing age.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Aging / psychology
  • Brain / blood supply*
  • Brain / physiology*
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation / physiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / methods