Neural mechanisms of brain plasticity with complex cognitive training in healthy seniors

Sandra B Chapman, Sina Aslan, Jeffrey S Spence, John J Hart Jr, Elizabeth K Bartz, Nyaz Didehbani, Molly W Keebler, Claire M Gardner, Jeremy F Strain, Laura F DeFina, Hanzhang Lu, Sandra B Chapman, Sina Aslan, Jeffrey S Spence, John J Hart Jr, Elizabeth K Bartz, Nyaz Didehbani, Molly W Keebler, Claire M Gardner, Jeremy F Strain, Laura F DeFina, Hanzhang Lu

Abstract

Complex mental activity induces improvements in cognition, brain function, and structure in animals and young adults. It is not clear to what extent the aging brain is capable of such plasticity. This study expands previous evidence of generalized cognitive gains after mental training in healthy seniors. Using 3 MRI-based measurements, that is, arterial spin labeling MRI, functional connectivity, and diffusion tensor imaging, we examined brain changes across 3 time points pre, mid, and post training (12 weeks) in a randomized sample (n = 37) who received cognitive training versus a control group. We found significant training-related brain state changes at rest; specifically, 1) increases in global and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF), particularly in the default mode network and the central executive network, 2) greater connectivity in these same networks, and 3) increased white matter integrity in the left uncinate demonstrated by an increase in fractional anisotropy. Improvements in cognition were identified along with significant CBF correlates of the cognitive gains. We propose that cognitive training enhances resting-state neural activity and connectivity, increasing the blood supply to these regions via neurovascular coupling. These convergent results provide preliminary evidence that neural plasticity can be harnessed to mitigate brain losses with cognitive training in seniors.

Keywords: CBF; MRI; aging; brain plasticity; cognitive training.

© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Results of CBF voxel-based comparison superimposed on an average CBF map of all participants for linear and quadratic interaction contrasts at P < 0.05 (FWE corrected) and k ≥ 1904 mm3. Note: The regions experiencing a linear increase are located in the frontal lobe while the regions experiencing a quadratic pattern of CBF increase are located in the posterior.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) The average functional connectivity maps (i.e., DMN and CEN) of the cognitive training group are overlaid on their average T1-weighted image. For illustration purposes, the z-score maps were arbitrarily thresholded (z-score ≥ 1, k ≥ 50) to qualitatively visualize the change in the intensity and cluster size. (B) Mean change in fcMRI z-scores (left column) and mean change in absolute CBF (right column) are shown for DMN and CEN across time periods. The DMN shows an increase in both mean fcMRI and mean aCBF from T1 to T3 for the cognitive training (CT) group relative to controls (CN). The CEN shows a maximal increase in both mean fcMRI and mean aCBF at T2 for the cognitive training group relative to controls.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
A representative participant's uncinate fasciculus (green) is overlaid on his fractional anisotropy map. The frontal and temporal ROIs (light blue) were expanded twice (dark blue) to ensure expansion into white matter.

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Source: PubMed

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