Emotional characteristics and intrinsic brain network functional connectivity among adults aged 75.

Abstract

Despite having a meaningful impact on quality of life, emotional well-being is often understudied in older adults in favor of cognitive performance, particularly when examining association with neurobiological function. Socially-isolated older adults have poorer emotional health than their non-isolated peers and are at increased risk of dementia. Characterizing neurobiological correlates of emotional characteristics in this population may help elucidate pathways which link social isolation and dementia risk. In a sample of 50 socially-isolated older adults aged 75+ years ("older-old"; 30 with mild cognitive impairment; 20 with unimpaired cognition), we use the NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery (NIHTB-EB) to examine associations between emotional characteristics and fMRI-derived intrinsic brain network functional connectivity. We found a positive association between the default mode network (DMN) connectivity and negative affect. Amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex connectivity was negatively associated with psychological well-being, and positively associated with negative affect. These results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. These findings replicate, in a sample of socially-isolated older-old adults, previous work highlighting the relationship between amygdala-vmPFC connectivity and individual differences in emotional health, with more inverse connectivity associated with better emotional characteristics.