Brain Structure & Function最新文献

The anterior hypothalamic area (AHA) has been implicated in a diverse array of functions ranging from defensive behavior selection to autonomic control. However, new methods that allow systematic characterization of the anatomical organization, connectivity, activity patterns, and molecular diversity have revealed the AHA as a hub for the convergence of innate and learned threat responding. Threat information is relayed to the AHA by synaptic inputs and circulating factors to convey information relevant for the regulation of organ system physiology and behavior. This structure is a critical hub for the regulation of survival behaviors but is relatively understudied compared to other hypothalamic structures. This review focuses on recent advances in dissecting the AHA that have overcome historical challenges that limit understanding of the AHA's role in basic brain circuitry and health disorders.

Response inhibition is more sensitive to aging than other forms of inhibitory control. Mounting evidence suggests that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) can promote response inhibition and age-related brain structure and function in the frontal cortex. Nevertheless, a limitation of existing work is that it primarily focuses on the direct influence of MVPA on response inhibition, without directly examining how MVPA affects the component task processes that are involved in response inhibition. ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers were employed to quantify MVPA and to categorize older adults aged 60-79 years old into a higher physical activity group (HG) and a lower physical activity group (LG). The participants in the two groups completed three novel versions of the stop-signal task (SST), and structural as well as resting-state functional magnetic resonance images were collected. First, the behavioural data showed that the participants in the HG exhibited superior performance in inhibitory and attentional control than those in the LG. Second, the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis revealed that the grey matter volume (GMV) in the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and the left superior frontal gyrus (lSFG) differed between the two groups. Third, the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis with the rIFG, lSFG or right pre-supplementary motor area (rpre-SMA) as a seed region revealed that the participants in the HG had a greater functional connectivity (rsFC) than the LG. Finally, partial correlation analysis indicated that the GMV and the rsFC could jointly account for group differences in response inhibition and attentional control induced by MVPA. (1) MVPA is positively associated with response inhibition in older adults, and the positive relationship is associated with effective attentional resource allocation for faster attentional capture; and (2) distinct frontal subregions of the brain induced by MVPA participate in different cognitive processes involved in response inhibition; particularly, the benefit from rIFG enhancement may be realized through optimizing attentional capture.

Reading is a complex cognitive skill that undergoes dynamic age-related changes across the lifespan. We investigated how associations between brain structure and reading fluency vary throughout the lifespan in native Chinese speakers using structural MRI data, alongside word- and sentence-level reading assessments in 145 healthy participants (aged 7-77 years). Our results revealed significant age-related brain-reading relationships, namely cortical thinning in bilateral middle frontal gyrus and inferior and superior parietal areas correlated with better reading in children and young adults, while positive associations emerged in older adults, indicating a shift from neural pruning to compensatory mechanisms. Beyond single morphometric features, morphometric similarity network analyses that capture coordinated variations across multiple cortical features between brain regions, demonstrated that reading fluency was associated with increased network integration in the left superior frontal and rostral middle frontal gyrus and precuneus, and greater specialization in the left caudal middle frontal gyrus. Together, these findings reveal age-related differences in reading-related neural architecture that are consistent with dynamic reorganization in logographic writing systems, highlighting how age-dependent neural plasticity interacts with reading experience to shape structural brain organization throughout the lifespan.