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Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Madden, DJ; Spaniol, J; Costello, MC; Bucur, B; White, LE; Cabeza, R; Davis, SW; Dennis, NA; Provenzale, JM; Huettel, SA
Published in: J Cogn Neurosci
February 2009

Previous research has established that age-related decline occurs in measures of cerebral white matter integrity, but the role of this decline in age-related cognitive changes is not clear. To conclude that white matter integrity has a mediating (causal) contribution, it is necessary to demonstrate that statistical control of the white matter-cognition relation reduces the magnitude of age-cognition relation. In this research, we tested the mediating role of white matter integrity, in the context of a task-switching paradigm involving word categorization. Participants were 20 healthy, community-dwelling older adults (60-85 years), and 20 younger adults (18-27 years). From diffusion tensor imaging tractography, we obtained fractional anisotropy (FA) as an index of white matter integrity in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Mean FA values exhibited age-related decline consistent with a decrease in white matter integrity. From a model of reaction time distributions, we obtained independent estimates of the decisional and nondecisional (perceptual-motor) components of task performance. Age-related decline was evident in both components. Critically, age differences in task performance were mediated by FA in two regions: the central portion of the genu, and splenium-parietal fibers in the right hemisphere. This relation held only for the decisional component and was not evident in the nondecisional component. This result is the first demonstration that the integrity of specific white matter tracts is a mediator of age-related changes in cognitive performance.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Cogn Neurosci

DOI

ISSN

0898-929X

Publication Date

February 2009

Volume

21

Issue

2

Start / End Page

289 / 302

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Reaction Time
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
 

Citation

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MLA
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Madden, D. J., Spaniol, J., Costello, M. C., Bucur, B., White, L. E., Cabeza, R., … Huettel, S. A. (2009). Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance. J Cogn Neurosci, 21(2), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2009.21047
Madden, David J., Julia Spaniol, Matthew C. Costello, Barbara Bucur, Leonard E. White, Roberto Cabeza, Simon W. Davis, Nancy A. Dennis, James M. Provenzale, and Scott A. Huettel. “Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance.J Cogn Neurosci 21, no. 2 (February 2009): 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2009.21047.
Madden DJ, Spaniol J, Costello MC, Bucur B, White LE, Cabeza R, et al. Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance. J Cogn Neurosci. 2009 Feb;21(2):289–302.
Madden, David J., et al. “Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance.J Cogn Neurosci, vol. 21, no. 2, Feb. 2009, pp. 289–302. Pubmed, doi:10.1162/jocn.2009.21047.
Madden DJ, Spaniol J, Costello MC, Bucur B, White LE, Cabeza R, Davis SW, Dennis NA, Provenzale JM, Huettel SA. Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance. J Cogn Neurosci. 2009 Feb;21(2):289–302.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Cogn Neurosci

DOI

ISSN

0898-929X

Publication Date

February 2009

Volume

21

Issue

2

Start / End Page

289 / 302

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Reaction Time
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology