Age-related differences in network structure and dynamic synchrony of cognitive control
T. Hinault,
M. Mijalkov,
J.B. Pereira,
Giovanni Volpe,
A. Bakke,
S.M. Courtney
Affiliations
T. Hinault
U1077 Inserm-Ephe-unicaen, Caen 14032, France; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States; Corresponding author at: U1077 Inserm-Ephe-unicaen, 2, rue des Rochambelles, 14032 Caen, France
M. Mijalkov
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
J.B. Pereira
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden; Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmo 47700, Sweden
Giovanni Volpe
Department of Physics, Goteborg University, Goteborg 41296, Sweden
A. Bakke
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; F.M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States
S.M. Courtney
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States; F.M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, MD 21287, United States
Cognitive trajectories vary greatly across older individuals, and the neural mechanisms underlying these differences remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the cognitive variability in older adults by linking the influence of white matter microstructure on the task-related organization of fast and effective communications between brain regions. Using diffusion tensor imaging and electroencephalography, we show that individual differences in white matter network organization are associated with network clustering and efficiency in the alpha and high-gamma bands, and that functional network dynamics partly explain individual differences in cognitive control performance in older adults. We show that older individuals with high versus low structural network clustering differ in task-related network dynamics and cognitive performance. These findings were corroborated by investigating magnetoencephalography networks in an independent dataset. This multimodal (fMRI and biological markers) brain connectivity framework of individual differences provides a holistic account of how differences in white matter microstructure underlie age-related variability in dynamic network organization and cognitive performance.
