Abstract

While chronological age is a strong predictor for health-related risk factors, it is an incomplete metric that fails to fully characterize the unique aging process of individuals with different genetic makeup, neurodevelopment, and environmental experiences. Recent advances in epigenomic array technologies have made it possible to generate DNA methylation-based biomarkers of biological aging, which may be useful in predicting a myriad of cognitive abilities and functional brain network organization across older individuals. It is currently unclear which cognitive domains are negatively correlated with epigenetic age above and beyond chronological age, and it is unknown if functional brain organization is an important mechanism for explaining these associations. In this study, individuals with accelerated epigenetic age (i.e. AgeAccelGrim) performed worse on tasks that spanned a wide variety of cognitive faculties including both fluid and crystallized intelligence (N = 103, average age = 68.98 years, 73 females, 30 males). Additionally, fMRI connectome-based predictive models suggested a mediating mechanism of functional connectivity on epigenetic age acceleration-cognition associations primarily in medial temporal lobe and limbic structures. This research highlights the important role of epigenetic aging processes on the development and maintenance of healthy cognitive capacities and function of the aging brain.

Details

Title
Accelerated epigenetic age is associated with whole-brain functional connectivity and impaired cognitive performance in older adults
Author
Graves, Andrew J. 1 ; Danoff, Joshua S. 1 ; Kim, Minah 1 ; Brindley, Samantha R. 1 ; Skyberg, Amalia M. 2 ; Giamberardino, Stephanie N. 3 ; Lynch, Morgan E. 4 ; Straka, Brenda C. 5 ; Lillard, Travis S. 1 ; Gregory, Simon G. 3 ; Connelly, Jessica J. 1 ; Morris, James P. 1 

 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA (GRID:grid.27755.32) (ISNI:0000 0000 9136 933X) 
 University of Oregon, Eugene, USA (GRID:grid.170202.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8008) 
 Duke University, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA (GRID:grid.42505.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 6853) 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA (GRID:grid.35403.31) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9991) 
Pages
9646
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3047001143
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.