Longitudinal assessment of default-mode brain function in aging

Age-related changes in the default-mode network (DMN) have been identified in prior cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Here, we investigated longitudinal change in DMN activity and connectivity. Cognitively intact participants (aged 49–79 years at baseline) were scanned twice, with a 6-year interval, while performing an episodic memory task interleaved with a passive control condition. Longitudinal analyses showed that the DMN (control condition > memory task) could be reliably identified at both baseline and follow-up. Differences in the magnitude of task-induced deactivation in posterior DMN regions were observed between baseline and follow-up indicating reduced deactivation in these regions with increasing age. Although no overall longitudinal changes in within-network connectivity were found across the whole sample, individual differences in memory change correlated with change in connectivity. Thus, our results show stability of whole-brain DMN topology and functional connectivity over time in healthy older adults, whereas within-region DMN analyses show reduced deactivation between baseline and follow-up. The current findings provide novel insights into DMN functioning that may assist in identifying brain changes in patient populations, as well as characterizing factors that distinguish between normal and pathologic aging.