In vivo visualization of age-related differences in the locus coeruleus

TY - JOUR

T1 - In vivo visualization of age-related differences in the locus coeruleus

AU - Cam-CAN

AU - Liu, Kathy Y

AU - Acosta-Cabronero, Julio

AU - Cardenas-Blanco, Arturo

AU - Loane, Clare

AU - Berry, Alex J

AU - Betts, Matthew J

AU - Kievit, Rogier A

AU - Henson, Richard N

AU - Düzel, Emrah

AU - Howard, Robert

AU - Hämmerer, Dorothea

N1 - Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2019/2

Y1 - 2019/2

N2 - The locus coeruleus (LC), the major origin of noradrenergic modulation of the central nervous system, may play an important role in neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. The pattern of age-related change of the LC across the life span is unclear. We obtained normalized, mean LC signal intensity values, that is, contrast ratios (CRs), from magnetization transfer-weighted images to investigate the relationship between LC CR and age in cognitively normal healthy adults (N = 605, age range 18-88 years). Study participants were part of the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience-an open-access, population-based data set. We found a quadratic relationship between LC CR and age, the peak occurring around 60 years, with no differences between males and females. Subregional analyses revealed that age-related decline in LC CR was confined to the rostral portion of the LC. Older adults showed greater variance in overall LC CR than younger adults, and the functional and clinical implications of these observed age-related differences require further investigation. Visualization of the LC in this study may inform how future scanning parameters can be optimized, and provides insight into how LC integrity changes across the life span.

AB - The locus coeruleus (LC), the major origin of noradrenergic modulation of the central nervous system, may play an important role in neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. The pattern of age-related change of the LC across the life span is unclear. We obtained normalized, mean LC signal intensity values, that is, contrast ratios (CRs), from magnetization transfer-weighted images to investigate the relationship between LC CR and age in cognitively normal healthy adults (N = 605, age range 18-88 years). Study participants were part of the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience-an open-access, population-based data set. We found a quadratic relationship between LC CR and age, the peak occurring around 60 years, with no differences between males and females. Subregional analyses revealed that age-related decline in LC CR was confined to the rostral portion of the LC. Older adults showed greater variance in overall LC CR than younger adults, and the functional and clinical implications of these observed age-related differences require further investigation. Visualization of the LC in this study may inform how future scanning parameters can be optimized, and provides insight into how LC integrity changes across the life span.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Cognition

KW - Female

KW - Healthy Aging/pathology

KW - Humans

KW - Locus Coeruleus/diagnostic imaging

KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging

KW - Male

KW - Melanins

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.10.014

DO - 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.10.014

M3 - Article

C2 - 30447418

SN - 0197-4580

VL - 74

SP - 101

EP - 111

JO - Neurobiology of Aging

JF - Neurobiology of Aging

ER -