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- Title
Age-related differences in network controllability are mitigated by redundancy in large-scale brain networks.
- Authors
Stanford, William; Mucha, Peter J.; Dayan, Eran
- Abstract
The aging brain undergoes major changes in its topology. The mechanisms by which the brain mitigates age-associated changes in topology to maintain robust control of brain networks are unknown. Here we use diffusion MRI data from cognitively intact participants (n = 480, ages 40–90) to study age-associated differences in the average controllability of structural brain networks, topological features that could mitigate these differences, and the overall effect on cognitive function. We find age-associated declines in average controllability in control hubs and large-scale networks, particularly within the frontoparietal control and default mode networks. Further, we find that redundancy, a hypothesized mechanism of reserve, quantified via the assessment of multi-step paths within networks, mitigates the effects of topological differences on average network controllability. Lastly, we discover that average network controllability, redundancy, and grey matter volume, each uniquely contribute to predictive models of cognitive function. In sum, our results highlight the importance of redundancy for robust control of brain networks and in cognitive function in healthy-aging. A diffusion MRI study suggests that redundancy could mitigate the effects of age-associated changes in brain topology to support the average controllability of brain networks middle and old age.
- Subjects
LARGE-scale brain networks; CONTROLLABILITY in systems engineering; DIFFUSION magnetic resonance imaging; GRAY matter (Nerve tissue); ROBUST control; MIDDLE age; COGNITIVE ability
- Publication
Communications Biology, 2024, Vol 7, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2399-3642
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s42003-024-06392-2