Cardiovascular risks and brain function: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of executive function in older adults
- PMID: 24439485
- PMCID: PMC4282177
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.12.008
Cardiovascular risks and brain function: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of executive function in older adults
Abstract
Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia are associated with cognitive impairment and risk of dementia in older adults. However, the mechanisms linking them are not clear. This study aims to investigate the association between aggregate CV risk, assessed by the Framingham general cardiovascular risk profile, and functional brain activation in a group of community-dwelling older adults. Sixty participants (mean age: 64.6 years) from the Brain Health Study, a nested study of the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial, underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging using the Flanker task. We found that participants with higher CV risk had greater task-related activation in the left inferior parietal region, and this increased activation was associated with poorer task performance. Our results provide insights into the neural systems underlying the relationship between CV risk and executive function. Increased activation of the inferior parietal region may offer a pathway through which CV risk increases risk for cognitive impairment.
Keywords: Brain function; Cardiovascular risk; Executive function; Framingham risk score; Older adults; fMRI.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Figures




References
-
- Albert MS, Moss MB, Tanzi R, Jones K. Preclinical prediction of AD using neuropsychological tests. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2001;7:631–639. - PubMed
-
- Beckmann CF, Jenkinson M, Smith SM. General multilevel linear modeling for group analysis in FMRI. Neuroimage. 2003;20:1052–1063. - PubMed
-
- Beckmann CF, Smith SM. Probabilistic independent component analysis for functional magnetic resonance imaging. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2004;23:137–152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TMI.2003.822821. - DOI - PubMed
-
- Bokde AL, Lopez-Bayo P, Born C, Dong W, Meindl T, Leinsinger G, Teipel SJ, Faltraco F, Reiser M, Moller HJ, Hampel H. Functional abnormalities of the visual processing system in subjects with mild cognitive impairment: an fMRI study. Psychiatry Res. 2008;163:248–259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2007.08.013. - DOI - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical