@article{ref1,
title="Disentangling the effects of age and mild traumatic brain injury on brain network connectivity: a resting state fMRI study",
journal="Neuroimage: clinical",
year="2020",
author="Bittencourt-Villalpando, M. and van der Horn, H. J. and Maurits, N. M. and van der Naalt, J.",
volume="29",
number="",
pages="e102534-e102534",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Cognitive complaints are common shortly after mild traumatic brain  injury (mTBI) but may persist up to years. Age-related cognitive decline can worsen  these symptoms. However, effects of age on mTBI sequelae have scarcely been  investigated. <br><br>METHODS: Fifty-four mTBI patients (median age: 35 years, range  19-64 years, 67% male) and twenty age- and sex-matched healthy controls were studied  using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in the sub-acute phase. Independent component analysis was used to identify intrinsic connectivity networks  (ICNs). A multivariate approach was adopted to evaluate the effects of age and group  on the ICNs in terms of (static) functional network connectivity (FNC), intensities  of spatial maps (SMs) and time-course spectral power (TC). <br><br>RESULTS: We observed  significant age-related changes for a) FNC: changes between 10 pairs of ICNs, mostly  involving the default mode (DM) and/or the cognitive-control (CC) domains; b) SMs:  intensity decrease in clusters across three domains and intensity increase in  clusters across two domains, including the CC but not the DM and c) TC: spectral  power decrease within the 0-0.15 Hz range and increase within the 0.20-0.25 Hz range  for increasing age within networks located in frontal areas, including the anterior  DM. Groups only differed for TC within the 0.065-0.10 Hz range in the cerebellar ICN  and no age × group interaction effect was found. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: We showed robust  effects of age on connectivity between and within ICNs that are associated with  cognitive functioning. Differences between mTBI patients and controls were only  found for activity in the cerebellar network, increasingly recognized to participate  in cognition. Our results suggest that to allow for capturing the true effects  related to mTBI and its effects on cognitive functioning, age should be included as  a covariate in mTBI studies, in addition to age-matching groups.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2213-1582",
doi="10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102534",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102534"
}