Unveiling the secrets of brain resilience: Multimodal neuroimaging insights into Neural dynamics and neuroprotection in ageing
With the onset of ageing the likelihood of brain degeneration increases but so does the remarkable capability of the brain to reorganize itself termed as neurocognitive resilience. Leveraging the neuroimaging mapped anatomical signatures to demarcate age related alteration of an individual brain is a promising strategy to identify ageing phenotypes and estimate the molecular cues account for coping mechanisms. This study endeavour to identifying neuroprotective signatures using multimodal structural and functional brain scans of healthy aged male and female cohort across dorsal-ventral pathways of neuronal signal processing. To obtain multifarious insight across numerous patho physiological process we employed cutting edge approaches such as structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), functional MRI (fMRI) and vascular MRI (cerebrovascular reactivity). From the study we obtained several unexpected anatomical and physiological neuro-protective features in the older cohort. Overall, we observed that older cohort exhibit better circum-cerebral structural connectivity as (i) cuneus to superior frontal gyrus (ii) superior frontal gyrus to inferior frontal gyrus (iii) inferior temporal gyrus to inferior frontal gyrus and (iv) cuneus to inferior temporal gyrus. Another, significant neuroprotective anatomical signature was revealed, namely a connectivity through vertical occipital fasciculus across cuneus to temporal cortex in male and female older cohort. Additionally, in older female we observed a pronounced increment in overall functional connectivity network observed in inferior frontal gyrus (both hemispheres). Whereas in older male a substantial increment of functional connectivity network in cuneus was observed as compared to their younger counterpart.