TY - JOUR
T1 - Gray mattervolume covariance networks, social support, and cognition in older adults
AU - Cotton, Kelly
AU - Verghese, Joe
AU - Blumen, Helena M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/6/2
Y1 - 2020/6/2
N2 - Objective: We examined the neural substrates of social support in older adults. Social support is associated with better outcomes in many facets of aging-including cognitive and functional health-but the underlying neural substrates remain largely unexplored. Methods: Voxel-based morphometry and multivariate statistics were used to identify gray matter volume covariance networks associated with social support in 112 older adults without dementia (M age = 74.6 years, 50% female), using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Results: A gray matter network associated with overall social support was identified and included prefrontal, hippocampal, amygdala, cingulate, and thalamic regions. A gray matter network specifically associated with tangible social support (e.g., someone to help you if you were confined to bed) was also identified, included prefrontal, hippocampal, cingulate, insular, and thalamic regions, and correlated with memory and executive function. Discussion: Gray matter networks associated with overall and tangible social support in this study were composed of regions previously associated with memory, executive function, aging, and dementia. Longitudinal research of the interrelationships between social support, brain structure, and cognition is needed, but strengthening social support may represent a new path toward improving cognition in aging that should be explored.
AB - Objective: We examined the neural substrates of social support in older adults. Social support is associated with better outcomes in many facets of aging-including cognitive and functional health-but the underlying neural substrates remain largely unexplored. Methods: Voxel-based morphometry and multivariate statistics were used to identify gray matter volume covariance networks associated with social support in 112 older adults without dementia (M age = 74.6 years, 50% female), using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Results: A gray matter network associated with overall social support was identified and included prefrontal, hippocampal, amygdala, cingulate, and thalamic regions. A gray matter network specifically associated with tangible social support (e.g., someone to help you if you were confined to bed) was also identified, included prefrontal, hippocampal, cingulate, insular, and thalamic regions, and correlated with memory and executive function. Discussion: Gray matter networks associated with overall and tangible social support in this study were composed of regions previously associated with memory, executive function, aging, and dementia. Longitudinal research of the interrelationships between social support, brain structure, and cognition is needed, but strengthening social support may represent a new path toward improving cognition in aging that should be explored.
KW - Executive function
KW - Memory
KW - Multivariate statistics
KW - Neuroimaging
KW - Social support
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85085117590&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85085117590&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbz023
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbz023
M3 - Article
C2 - 30816944
AN - SCOPUS:85085117590
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 75
SP - 1219
EP - 1229
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 6
ER -