Structural brain correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study

Ciara Treacy; Alicia J. Campbell; Toomas Erik Anijärv; Jim Lagopoulos; Daniel F. Hermens; Sophie C. Andrews; Jacob M. Levenstein

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.010

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Structural brain correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study

Journal article

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Structural brain correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study

Ciara Treacy, Alicia J. Campbell, Toomas Erik Anijärv, Jim Lagopoulos, Daniel F. Hermens, Sophie C. Andrews and Jacob M. Levenstein

Neurobiology of Aging, Vol.144, pp.93-103

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.010

PMID: 39298870

Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection

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Abstract

Cerebrum

Grey matter

Healthy ageing

Structural MRI

Sustained attention

White matter

White matter hyperintensities

Thompson Institute Special Collection

Neuroimaging

Healthy Brain Ageing

UniSC Diversity Area - Life Stages

Sustained attention is important for maintaining cognitive function and autonomy during ageing, yet older people often show reductions in this domain. The role of the underlying neurobiology is not yet well understood, with most neuroimaging studies primarily focused on fMRI. Here, we utilise sMRI to investigate the relationships between age, structural brain volumes and sustained attention performance. Eighty-nine healthy older adults (50–84 years, Mage 65.5 (SD=8.4) years, 74 f) underwent MRI brain scanning and completed two sustained attention tasks: a rapid visual information processing (RVP) task and sustained attention to response task (SART). Independent hierarchical linear regressions demonstrated that greater volumes of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) were associated with worse RVP_A’ performance, whereas greater grey matter volumes were associated with better RVP_A’ performance. Further, greater cerebral white matter volumes were associated with better SART_d’ performance. Importantly, mediation analyses revealed that both grey and white matter volumes completely mediated the relationship between ageing and sustained attention. These results explain disparate attentional findings in older adults, highlighting the intervening role of brain structure.

Details

Title: Structural brain correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study
Authors: Ciara Treacy (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Alicia J. Campbell (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Toomas Erik Anijärv (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Jim Lagopoulos (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Daniel F. Hermens (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Sophie C. Andrews (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Jacob M. Levenstein (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Publication details: Neurobiology of Aging, Vol.144, pp.93-103
Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.010
ISSN: 1558-1497
PMID: 39298870
Grant note: We acknowledge the Wilson Foundation, who provided generous funding support for the LEISURE study.
Organisation Unit: Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; Thompson Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991065235302621
Output Type: Journal article

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