“…However, especially in OA there are a number of regions, particularly in the RH hippocampus, bilateral nucleus accumbens, and RH ventral occipital-temporal stream, that relate to better cognitive ability with increased hubness as measured by nodal efficiency. The nucleus accumbens has been noted in research on the aging brain to be somewhat unique, in that although volume reductions have been noted with age, it is spared from neuronal loss, unlike much of the rest of the brain (see Konar-Nié et al, 2023 for a review). It may be that greater connectivity bilaterally to this relatively protected subcortical region serves to spare the network, especially considering the role the nucleus accumbens plays in decision making, particularly when there is uncertainty, ambiguity, or when distractors are involved, owing to the role of neurons in this region for integrating information from multiple sources that can be conflicting (see Floresco, 2015 for a review).…”