Brain Research Imaging Centre, Neuroimaging Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Scottish Imaging Network, A Platform for Scientific Excellence (SINAPSE) Collaboration, Edinburgh, UK; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Neurobiol Aging. 2013 Dec;34(12):2726-33. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.05.015. Epub 2013 Jul 11.
Brain tissue deterioration is a significant contributor to lower cognitive ability in later life; however, few studies have appropriate data to establish how much influence prior brain volume and prior cognitive performance have on this association. We investigated the associations between structural brain imaging biomarkers, including an estimate of maximal brain volume, and detailed measures of cognitive ability at age 73 years in a large (N = 620), generally healthy, community-dwelling population. Cognitive ability data were available from age 11 years. We found positive associations (r) between general cognitive ability and estimated brain volume in youth (male, 0.28; females, 0.12), and in measured brain volume in later life (males, 0.27; females, 0.26). Our findings show that cognitive ability in youth is a strong predictor of estimated prior and measured current brain volume in old age but that these effects were the same for both white and gray matter. As 1 of the largest studies of associations between brain volume and cognitive ability with normal aging, this work contributes to the wider understanding of how some early-life factors influence cognitive aging.
脑组织退化是导致晚年认知能力下降的一个重要因素；然而，很少有研究有适当的数据来确定先前的大脑体积和先前的认知表现对这种关联有多大影响。我们调查了结构脑成像生物标志物（包括最大脑容量的估计值）与 73 岁时详细认知能力测量值之间的关联，这些生物标志物来自于一个大型（N=620）、通常健康的社区居住人群。认知能力数据可追溯到 11 岁。我们发现一般认知能力与青年时期的大脑容量估计值之间存在正相关（男性，0.28；女性，0.12），以及老年时期的大脑容量测量值之间存在正相关（男性，0.27；女性，0.26）。我们的研究结果表明，青年时期的认知能力是老年时大脑容量估计值和测量值的有力预测因素，但这些影响对白质和灰质都是一样的。作为研究大脑体积与认知能力与正常衰老之间关联的最大研究之一，这项工作有助于更广泛地了解一些早期生活因素如何影响认知衰老。
