Brain Connectivity Correlates of Cognitive Dispersion in a Healthy Middle-Aged Population: Influence of Subjective Cognitive Complaints

Lídia Mulet-Pons, Cristina Solé-Padullés, María Cabello-Toscano, Kilian Abellaneda-Pérez, Ruben Perellón-Alfonso, Gabriele Cattaneo, Javier Solana Sánchez, Vanessa Alviarez-Schulze, Nuria Bargalló, Josep Mª Tormos-Muñoz, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, David Bartrés-Faz, Lídia Vaqué-Alcázar and Vanessa Taler

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2023, vol. 78, issue 11, 1860-1869

Abstract: ObjectivesCognitive dispersion, representing intraindividual fluctuations in cognitive performance, is associated with cognitive decline in advanced age. We sought to elucidate sociodemographic, neuropsychological, and brain connectivity correlates of cognitive dispersion in middle age, and further consider potential influences of the severity of subjective cognitive complaints (SCC).MethodsFive hundred and twenty healthy volunteers from the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (aged 40–66 years; 49.6% females, 453 with magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions) were included and stratified into high and low SCC groups. Two analysis steps were undertaken: (1) for the whole sample and (2) by groups. Generalized linear models and analysis of covariance were implemented to study associations between cognitive dispersion and performance (episodic memory, speed of processing, and executive function), white matter integrity, and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the default mode network (DMN) and dorsal attentional networks (DAN).ResultsAcross-domain dispersion was negatively related to cognitive performance, rs-FC within the DMN, and between the DMN and the DAN, but not to white matter integrity. The rs-FC values were not explained by cognitive performance. When considering groups, the above findings were significant only for those with high SCC.DiscussionIn healthy middle-aged individuals, high cognitive dispersion was related to poorer cognition and DMN dysregulation, being these associations stronger among subjects with high SCC. The present results reinforce the interest in considering dispersion measures within neuropsychological evaluations, as they may be more sensitive to incipient age-related cognitive and functional brain changes than traditional measures of performance.

Keywords: Cognition; Neuroimaging; Neuropsychology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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