Life-Course Socioeconomic Position and Hippocampal Atrophy in a Prospective Cohort of Older Adults

Elbejjani, Martine; Fuhrer, Rebecca; Abrahamowicz, Michał; Mazoyer, Bernard; Crivello, Fabrice; Tzourio, Christophe; Dufouil, Carole

doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000365

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Moreover, a wealth of evidence suggests that social contexts can alter neural functioning (27, 28, 29). But the bio-behavioral mechanisms linking attenuated neural threat responding in supportive social contexts to perceived health remain poorly understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective General Health and the Social Regulation of Hypothalamic Activity

et al. 2017

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Objective Social support is associated with better health. This association may be partly mediated through the social regulation of adrenomedullary activity related to poor cardiovascular health and glucocorticoid activity known to inhibit immune functioning. These physiological cascades originate in the hypothalamic areas that are involved in the neural response to threat. We investigated whether the down regulation, by social support, of hypothalamic responses to threat is associated with better subjective health. Methods A diverse community sample of seventy-five individuals, ages 23–26, were recruited from an ongoing longitudinal study. Participants completed the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) a well-validated self report measure used to assess subjective general health. They were scanned, using fMRI, during a threat of shock paradigm involving various levels of social support, which was manipulated using hand-holding from a close relational partner, a stranger, and an alone condition. We focused on a hypothalamic region of interest (ROI) derived from an independent sample to examine the association between hypothalamic activity and subjective general health. Results Results revealed a significant interaction between handholding condition and self-reported general health, F(2, 72) = 3.53, p = .032, partial η2 = .05. Down regulation of the hypothalamic ROI during partner handholding corresponded with higher self-ratings of general health, ß □= −.31, p =.007. Conclusion Higher self-ratings of general health correspond with decreased hypothalamic activity during a task that blends threat with supportive handholding. These results suggest that associations between social support and health are partly mediated through the social regulation of hypothalamic sensitivity to threat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective General Health and the Social Regulation of Hypothalamic Activity

et al. 2017

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“…We examined occupation as a measure of L-CR that is obtained across the lifespan because previous work has shown that higher levels of occupational complexity among adults at risk for dementia and with similar levels of cognition were associated with lower hippocampal volume and higher overall brain atrophy [84]. Lower socioprofessional attainment in midlife and across the life course has also been linked to faster rate of hippocampal atrophy [32]. In the present study, this implies that adults with higher occupational status and complexity may be using CR accumulated across the lifespan.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, higher activation of compensatory neural mechanisms in this region may mitigate the effects of greater AD pathology [31]. Structural imaging research has also shown that (1) lower socioprofessional attainment in midlife was associated with faster hippocampal atrophy [32], (2) interaction between white matter lesions and high CR predicted higher conversion rate of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD [33], and (3) larger intracranial volume provided support for brain reserve hypothesis against AD pathology [34]. CR may account for discrepancies observed between sex, lifestyle factors, AD neuropathological changes, small-vessel vascular impairment, and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) [35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical dementia severity associated with ventricular size is differentially moderated by cognitive reserve in men and women

et al. 2018

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BackgroundInterindividual differences in cognitive reserve (CR) are associated with complex and dynamic clinical phenotypes observed in cognitive impairment and dementia. We tested whether (1) CR early in life (E-CR; measured by education and IQ), (2) CR later in life (L-CR; measured by occupation), and (3) CR panel (CR-P) with the additive effects of E-CR and L-CR, act as moderating factors between baseline ventricular size and clinical dementia severity at baseline and across 2 years. We further examined whether this moderation is differentially represented by sex.MethodsWe examined a longitudinal model using patients (N = 723; mean age = 70.8 ± 9.4 years; age range = 38–90 years; females = 374) from the Sunnybrook Dementia Study. The patients represented Alzheimer’s disease (n = 439), mild cognitive impairment (n = 77), vascular cognitive impairment (n = 52), Lewy body disease (n = 30), and frontotemporal dementia (n = 125). Statistical analyses included (1) latent growth modeling to determine how clinical dementia severity changes over 2 years (measured by performance on the Dementia Rating Scale), (2) confirmatory factor analysis to establish a baseline E-CR factor, and (3) path analysis to predict dementia severity. Baseline age (continuous) and Apolipoprotein E status (ɛ4−/ɛ4+) were included as covariates.ResultsThe association between higher baseline ventricular size and dementia severity was moderated by (1) E-CR and L-CR and (2) CR-P. This association was differentially represented in men and women. Specifically, men in only the low CR-P had higher baseline clinical dementia severity with larger baseline ventricular size. However, women in the low CR-P showed the (1) highest baseline dementia severity and (2) fastest 2-year decline with larger baseline ventricular size.ConclusionsClinical dementia severity associated with ventricular size may be (1) selectively moderated by complex and additive CR networks and (2) differentially represented by sex.Trials registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01800214. Registered on 27 February 2013.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13195-018-0419-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Several investigators have found an influence of early-life adversity on decline in cognitive function during middle age; [17][18][19][20] however, this association has not been consistently observed 15,24,[66][67][68] . In addition, early-life poverty, stress and abuse have been linked to late-life dementia 17,18,[69][70][71] .…”

Section: Wwwnaturecom/nrneurolmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The idea that early-life adversity influences cognitive and emotional health and disease throughout life is supported by strong epidemiological evidence, and the statistical relationship between earlylife adversity and a variety of psychiatric disorders has been extensively documented and reviewed [8][9][10][11][12][13] . While acknowledging the frequent overlap between cognitive and emotional deficits 14 , in this Review we focus primarily on how early-life adversity could modulate cognitive functions across the lifespan, including memory problems in children 10,15,16 , cognitive decline during middle age [17][18][19][20][21][22] , and late-life dementia 17,18,23 . The types of adversity that have been implicated by studies on poor cognitive outcomes include low socioeconomic status (SES), war, famine, neglect and abuse, and being raised in an orphanage.…”

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confidence: 99%

Early-life adversity and neurological disease: age-old questions and novel answers

2019

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Neurological illnesses, including cognitive impairment, memory decline and dementia, affect over 50 million people worldwide, imposing a substantial burden on individuals and society. These disorders arise from a combination of genetic, environmental and experiential factors, with the latter two factors having the greatest impact during sensitive periods in development. In this Review , we focus on the contribution of adverse early-life experiences to aberrant brain maturation, which might underlie vulnerability to cognitive brain disorders. Specifically , we draw on recent robust discoveries from diverse disciplines, encompassing human studies and experimental models. These discoveries suggest that early-life adversity , especially in the perinatal period, influences the maturation of brain circuits involved in cognition. Importantly , new findings suggest that fragmented and unpredictable environmental and parental signals comprise a novel potent type of adversity , which contributes to subsequent vulnerabilities to cognitive illnesses via mechanisms involving disordered maturation of brain 'wiring'.

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Life-Course Socioeconomic Position and Hippocampal Atrophy in a Prospective Cohort of Older Adults

Cited by 28 publications

References 32 publications

Subjective General Health and the Social Regulation of Hypothalamic Activity

Subjective General Health and the Social Regulation of Hypothalamic Activity

Clinical dementia severity associated with ventricular size is differentially moderated by cognitive reserve in men and women

Early-life adversity and neurological disease: age-old questions and novel answers

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