Association of pulsatile and mean cerebral blood flow velocity with age and neuropsychological performance

• Published in: Physiology & behavior Vol. 130; pp. 23 - 27
• Main Authors: Pase, Matthew P, Grima, Natalie A, Stough, Con, Scholey, Andrew, Pipingas, Andrew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 10.05.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Aging - physiology; Aorta - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Flow Velocity - physiology; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - physiology; Brain; Cerebral blood flow; Cerebrovascular; Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology; Cognition; Cognition - physiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Manometry; Middle Aged; Middle Cerebral Artery - diagnostic imaging; Middle Cerebral Artery - physiology; Multivariate Analysis; Neuropsychological Tests; Neuropsychology; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Pulsatile Flow - physiology; Radial Artery - physiology; Task Performance and Analysis; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial; Brain; Cognition; Cerebrovascular; Blood pressure; Neuropsychology; Cerebral blood flow; Regional blood flow; Central nervous system; Neuropsychological test; Velocity; Encephalon; Pulsatile; Hemodynamics; Neuropsychologia; Age
• ISSN: 0031-9384; 1873-507X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.03.015

Abstract Low cerebral blood flow velocity is associated with cognitive decline. However, the association between pulsatile brain blood flow velocity and cognition has not been investigated. High pulsatile hemodynamic stress in the brain may impair cognitive function through damage to small cerebral vessels. The current objective was to examine the cross-sectional association of pulsatile and mean cerebral blood flow velocity with age and neuropsychological performance. We also examined whether cerebral blood flow velocity was associated with aortic pulse pressure, a measure of arterial ageing and aortic stiffness. Cerebral blood flow velocity was measured in the middle cerebral artery using Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (TDU) while neuropsychological performance was measured using a computerized cognitive test battery. Aortic pulse pressure was non-invasively derived from applanation tonometry of the radial artery. The sample comprised 160 healthy adults aged 50–70 years. Results indicated that increasing age correlated with lower mean ( r = − 0.23, p < 0.01) and higher pulsatile ( r = 0.27, p < 0.01) brain blood flow velocity. In multivariate adjusted models, both peripheral ( β = 0.28, p < 0.05) and aortic ( β = 0.24, p < 0.05) pulse pressure were associated with higher pulsatile flow velocity through the middle cerebral artery. In adjusted models, neither mean nor pulsatile cerebral blood flow velocity was associated with performance on any cognitive task. In conclusion, arterial ageing was associated with increased pulsatile hemodynamic stress in the brain. However, this was not associated with impaired neuropsychological performance.