Sex differences in normal age trajectories of functional brain networks - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2015 Apr;36(4):1524-35.

doi: 10.1002/hbm.22720. Epub 2014 Dec 18.

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Sex differences in normal age trajectories of functional brain networks

Dustin Scheinost et al. Hum Brain Mapp. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance image (rs-fMRI) is increasingly used to study functional brain networks. Nevertheless, variability in these networks due to factors such as sex and aging is not fully understood. This study explored sex differences in normal age trajectories of resting-state networks (RSNs) using a novel voxel-wise measure of functional connectivity, the intrinsic connectivity distribution (ICD). Males and females showed differential patterns of changing connectivity in large-scale RSNs during normal aging from early adulthood to late middle-age. In some networks, such as the default-mode network, males and females both showed decreases in connectivity with age, albeit at different rates. In other networks, such as the fronto-parietal network, males and females showed divergent connectivity trajectories with age. Main effects of sex and age were found in many of the same regions showing sex-related differences in aging. Finally, these sex differences in aging trajectories were robust to choice of preprocessing strategy, such as global signal regression. Our findings resolve some discrepancies in the literature, especially with respect to the trajectory of connectivity in the default mode, which can be explained by our observed interactions between sex and aging. Overall, results indicate that RSNs show different aging trajectories for males and females. Characterizing effects of sex and age on RSNs are critical first steps in understanding the functional organization of the human brain.

Keywords: aging; brain networks; functional connectivity; resting state; sex differences.

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Sex by aging interaction for connectivity. Sex by age interactions are shown in (A) and sex by age‐squared interactions are shown in (B). Widespread significant (P < 0.05 corrected) differences in aging trajectories between males and females were observed. Warm colors represent areas where the slope associated with age or age‐squared is greater for females compared to males. Cool colors represent areas where the slope associated with age or age‐squared is greater for males compared to females. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com

.]

Figure 2

Figure 2

Scatterplots for sex by aging interaction in (A) DMN and (B) FPN. (A) For both DMN nodes, males displayed a greater change in connectivity per yearly increase in age compared to females. (B) For both FPN nodes, males and females showed divergent directions of aging trajectories with males showing increased connectivity with age and females showing decreased connectivity with age. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com

.]

Figure 3

Figure 3

Scatterplots for sex by aging interaction in (A) sensory and (B) subcortical and limbic networks. (A) Sensory networks displayed sex by aging interaction in the visual and auditory networks. (B) Females showed increased connectivity with age in many subcortical and limbic regions, whereas males showed little change in connectivity with age. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com

.]

Figure 4

Figure 4

Sex Differences in connectivity. Widespread significant (P < 0.05 corrected) differences between males and females were observed. Warm colors represent areas with greater connectivity for females compared with males. Cool colors represent areas with greater connectivity for males compared with females. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com

.]

Figure 5

Figure 5

Linear and non‐linear effects of aging on connectivity. Widespread significant (P < 0.05 corrected) correlations with age and age‐squared were observed. (A) Correlations with age. (B) Correlations with age‐squared. These maps are collapsed across males and females. Warm colors represent areas with a positive correlation with age or age‐squared. Cool colors represent areas with negative correlations with age or age‐squared. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com

.]

Figure 6

Figure 6

Robustness of results to preprocessing. The observe sex differences in aging trajectories were robust to choice of preprocessing strategy. The results with (right column) and without GSR (left column) are largely the same. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com

.]

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