Asymmetric thinning of the cerebral cortex across the adult lifespan is accelerated in Alzheimer’s disease

Roe, J.M., Vidal-Piñeiro, D., Sørensen, Ø., Brandmaier, A.M., Düzel, S., Gonzalez, H.A., Kievit, R.A., Knights, E., Kühn, S., Lindenberger, U., Mowinckel, A.M., Nyberg, L., Park, D.C., Pudas, S., Rundle, M.M., Walhovd, K.B., Fjell, A.M., Westerhausen, R. and Brown, B.ORCID: 0000-0001-7927-2540 (2021) Asymmetric thinning of the cerebral cortex across the adult lifespan is accelerated in Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Communications, 12 (1).

Abstract

Aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are associated with progressive brain disorganization. Although structural asymmetry is an organizing feature of the cerebral cortex it is unknown whether continuous age- and AD-related cortical degradation alters cortical asymmetry. Here, in multiple longitudinal adult lifespan cohorts we show that higher-order cortical regions exhibiting pronounced asymmetry at age ~20 also show progressive asymmetry-loss across the adult lifespan. Hence, accelerated thinning of the (previously) thicker homotopic hemisphere is a feature of aging. This organizational principle showed high consistency across cohorts in the Lifebrain consortium, and both the topological patterns and temporal dynamics of asymmetry-loss were markedly similar across replicating samples. Asymmetry-change was further accelerated in AD. Results suggest a system-wide dedifferentiation of the adaptive asymmetric organization of heteromodal cortex in aging and AD.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	Psychology, Counselling, Exercise Science and Chiropractic
Publisher:	Springer Nature
Copyright:	© 2021 The Authors.
Other Information:	Belinda Brown appears courtesy of The Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing
United Nations SDGs:	Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/59540

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