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White Matter Microstructure and Language Functioning in Healthy Aging

Madhavan, Kiely M, M.A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942804

Abstract Details

2013, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Psychology.
The structural deterioration of brain tissue in older adults is thought to be responsible for the majority of age-related cognitive decline, and it has been suggested that disruption of widespread cortical networks due to a loss of axonal integrity may play an important role. However, the relationship between cortical network disruption and cognitive deterioration remains unclear. The research examining correlations between structural change and functional decline has focused heavily on working memory, processing speed, and executive processes while other aspects of cognition, such as language functioning, have received less attention. The current study aimed to determine whether age-related changes in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), a connection between temporoparietal and frontal language regions, are responsible for the deterioration in language functioning associated with age. Subjects included 112 right-handed volunteers (ages 19-76). For each subject, the SLF of the left hemisphere was reconstructed from diffusion tensor images (DTI). Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) values were extracted from parietal (SLFp) and temporal (SLFt) bundles. Language functioning was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Boston Naming Test (BNT), Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), and Semantic Fluency Test (SFT). Regression analyses assessed the relationship between age, sex, and FA from SLFt and SLFp. Males and females showed a different pattern of decline in FA across adulthood. For all subjects, greater SLFt FA was significantly associated with better COWAT performance and age predicted BNT performance. For males, greater SLFt FA was significantly associated with increased COWAT performance, and there was a positive relationship between both age and SLFp FA with BNT scores. In females, greater SLFp FA was related to lower COWAT performance. Taken together, the results suggest that white matter integrity of the SLF follows a different pattern of decline in adulthood for males and females, and this decline differentially affects language functioning.
Paula Shear, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Steven Howe, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jerzy Szaflarski, M.D., Ph.D. (Committee Member)
50 p.
Clinical Psychology
language; white matter; ; aging; fractional anisotropy;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Madhavan, M.A., K. M. (2013). White Matter Microstructure and Language Functioning in Healthy Aging [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942804

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Madhavan, M.A., Kiely. White Matter Microstructure and Language Functioning in Healthy Aging. 2013. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942804.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Madhavan, M.A., Kiely. "White Matter Microstructure and Language Functioning in Healthy Aging." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942804

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1367942804
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.