Key result
Age is not linked to altered hemodynamic impulse response or BOLD slope during healthy aging.
Why the study?
Studies comparing BOLD signal across age groups require the assumption that neurovascular coupling does not change with age, but tests of this assumption have produced mixed results.
Observational
In cognitive studies of healthy aging, group differences in BOLD activation are likely due to age-related changes in cognitive-neural interactions rather than impairments in neurovascular coupling.
Supports attributing BOLD differences to neural factors in aging studies; leaves open confirmation in larger, diverse cohorts.
Studies of cognitive function that compare the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal across age groups often require the assumption that neurovascular coupling does not change with age. Tests of this assumption have produced mixed results regarding the strength of the coupling and its relative time course. Using deconvolution, we found that age does not have a significant effect on the time course of the hemodynamic impulse response function or on the slope of the BOLD versus stimulus duration relationship. These results suggest that in cognitive studies of healthy aging, group differences in BOLD activation are likely due to age-related changes in cognitive-neural interactions and information processing rather than to impairments in neurovascular coupling. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3538-3551, 2017.
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Grinband et al. (2017) conducted an observational in Healthy aging. Age was evaluated on Time course of the hemodynamic impulse response function and slope of the BOLD versus stimulus duration relationship. Age does not have a significant effect on the time course of the hemodynamic impulse response function or on the slope of the BOLD versus stimulus duration relationship in healthy aging.
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