Age-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow among young to mid-life adults

• Published in: Neuroreport Vol. 10; no. 12; p. 2493
• Main Authors: Schultz, S K, O'Leary, D S, Boles Ponto, L L, Watkins, G L, Hichwa, R D, Andreasen, N C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 20.08.1999
• Subjects: Adult; Aging - physiology; Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Middle Aged; Reference Values; Tomography, Emission-Computed
• DOI: 10.1097/00001756-199908200-00011
• ISSN: 0959-4965

Using PET with [(15)O]H2O, we examined age in relation to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) among young to mid-life adults. Previous work has largely contrasted rCBF between young and elderly age groups dichotomously. This study maps the continuum of normal age-related changes in rCBF from early to mid-adulthood. We obtained images from 37 healthy volunteers between 19 and 50 years of age during an eyes-closed resting baseline condition. There was a negative correlation between age and rCBF in mesial frontal cortex, involving the anterior cingulate region (r = 0.63, p<0.001). These findings reflect differences in the distribution of rCBF evident in early to mid-adulthood that may be associated with subsequent changes in memory and executive functioning in later life.