The effect of ageing on fMRI: Correction for the confounding effects of vascular reactivity evaluated by joint fMRI and MEG in 335 adults

Kamen A. Tsvetanov, Richard N. A. Henson, Lorraine K. Tyler, Simon W. Davis, Meredith A. Shafto, Jason R. Taylor, Nitin Williams, Cam-CAN, James B. Rowe
2015 Human Brain Mapping  
In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research one is typically interested in neural activity. However, the blood-oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal is a composite of both neural and vascular activity. As factors such as age or medication may alter vascular function, it is essential to account for changes in neurovascular coupling when investigating neurocognitive functioning with fMRI. The resting-state fluctuation amplitude (RSFA) in the fMRI signal (rsfMRI) has been proposed
more » ... as an index of vascular reactivity. The RSFA compares favourably with other techniques such as breath-hold and hypercapnia, but the latter are more difficult to perform in some populations, such as older adults. The RSFA is therefore a candidate for use in adjusting for age-related changes in vascular reactivity in fMRI studies. The use of RSFA is predicated on its sensitivity to vascular rather than neural factors; however, the extent to which each of these factors contributes to RSFA remains to be characterized. The present work addressed these issues by comparing RSFA (i.e., rsfMRI variability) to proxy measures of (i) cardiovascular function in terms of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) and (ii) neural activity in terms of resting state magnetoencephalography (rsMEG). We derived summary scores of RSFA, a sensorimotor task BOLD activation, cardiovascular function and rsMEG variability for 335 healthy older adults in the population-based Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience cohort (Cam-CAN; www.cam-can.com). Mediation analysis revealed that the effects of ageing in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). r Human Brain Mapping 36:2248-2269 (2015) r state; fluctuation amplitude r r r Vascular Influences on BOLD Signal with Ageing r r 2249
doi:10.1002/hbm.22768 pmid:25727740 pmcid:PMC4730557 fatcat:wy2oe2gktvdkthgbaghjbslh6y