Longitudinal studies of participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) have indicated that performance on some cognitive and memory tests declines after age 70. However, there is a great deal of variability among individuals in the trajectories of cognitive aging. Data from our laboratory indicate that early declines in BLSA participants predict later impairments in cognition and memory and that such declines may be early markers of pathological cognitive aging. The contributions of changes in brain structure and function to these differences in cognitive aging are unclear, as neuroimaging data have not been collected systematically for these individuals and there are few studies in the literature of such changes. This project will address this gap through the acquisition and quantification of annual neuroimaging studies of 180 selected BLSA participants (90 males and 90 females, aged 60 years and older) over a 9-year period. State-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) will be used to measure brain anatomy and blood flow, respectively. PET and oxygen-15 labeled water will provide measurements of cerebral blood flow during resting conditions and during the performance of memory tasks to examine functional integrity of the aging brain during cognitive demand. A battery of neuropsychological tests will be administered in conjunction with the neuroimaging evaluations. The principal goals of this project are to address the following questions: 1. Do prior psychological and physical characteristics predict changes in brain structure and function and neuropsychological changes later in life? 2. Are longitudinal changes in brain structure and function associated with changes in cognitive and memory performance? 3. What is the rate of change in brain anatomy and physiology in men and women after the age of 60 years? 4. What is the frequency and progression of brain abnormalities in community-dwelling aged populations? This project will provide critical information for researchers and clinicians on the predictors of normal and pathological cognitive aging in relation to brain abnormalities, which will enhance our understanding of changes in health and diseases of the elderly, such as Alzheimer's Disease.
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| Gonzalez, Christopher E; Pacheco, Jennifer; Beason-Held, Lori L et al. (2015) Longitudinal changes in cortical thinning associated with hypertension. J Hypertens 33:1242-8 |
| Pacheco, Jennifer; Goh, Joshua O; Kraut, Michael A et al. (2015) Greater cortical thinning in normal older adults predicts later cognitive impairment. Neurobiol Aging 36:903-8 |
| Venkatraman, Vijay K; Gonzalez, Christopher E; Landman, Bennett et al. (2015) Region of interest correction factors improve reliability of diffusion imaging measures within and across scanners and field strengths. Neuroimage 119:406-16 |
| Chuang, Y-F; Tanaka, T; Beason-Held, L L et al. (2015) FTO genotype and aging: pleiotropic longitudinal effects on adiposity, brain function, impulsivity and diet. Mol Psychiatry 20:133-39 |
| Wang, Ying; Resnick, Susan M; Davatzikos, Christos et al. (2014) Analysis of spatio-temporal brain imaging patterns by Hidden Markov Models and serial MRI images. Hum Brain Mapp 35:4777-94 |
| Thambisetty, Madhav; Beason-Held, Lori L; An, Yang et al. (2013) Alzheimer risk variant CLU and brain function during aging. Biol Psychiatry 73:399-405 |
| Thambisetty, Madhav; Beason-Held, Lori L; An, Yang et al. (2013) Impaired glucose tolerance in midlife and longitudinal changes in brain function during aging. Neurobiol Aging 34:2271-6 |
| Kapogiannis, Dimitrios; Sutin, Angelina; Davatzikos, Christos et al. (2013) The five factors of personality and regional cortical variability in the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging. Hum Brain Mapp 34:2829-40 |
| Thambisetty, Madhav; An, Yang; Nalls, Michael et al. (2013) Effect of complement CR1 on brain amyloid burden during aging and its modification by APOE genotype. Biol Psychiatry 73:422-8 |
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