Data from: Adaptation of brain functional and structural networks in aging

The human brain, especially the prefrontal cortex (PFC), is functionally
and anatomically reorganized in order to adapt to neuronal challenges in
aging. This study employed structural MRI, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI),
and high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI), and examined the
functional and structural reorganization of the PFC in aging using a
Chinese sample of 173 subjects aged from 21 years and above. We found
age-related increases in the structural connectivity between the PFC and
posterior brain regions. Such findings were partially mediated by
age-related increases in the structural connectivity of the occipital lobe
within the posterior brain. Based on our findings, it is thought that the
PFC reorganization in aging could be partly due to the adaptation to
age-related changes in the structural reorganization of the posterior
brain. This thus supports the idea derived from task-based fMRI that the
PFC reorganization in aging may be adapted to the need of compensation for
resolving less distinctive stimulus information from the posterior brain
regions. In addition, we found that the structural connectivity of the PFC
with the temporal lobe was fully mediated by the temporal cortical
thickness, suggesting that the brain morphology plays an important role in
the functional and structural reorganization with aging.