Authors

Schultz SK. O'Leary DS. Boles Ponto LL. Watkins GL.

Hichwa RD. Andreasen NC.

 

Institution

Mental Health Clinical Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA.

 

Title

Age-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow among young to mid-life adults.

 

Source

Neuroreport. 10(12):2493-6, 1999 Aug 20.

 

Abstract

Using PET with [(15)O]H2O, we examined age in relation to regional cerebral

blood flow (rCBF) among young to mid-life adults. Previous work has largely

contrasted rCBF between young and elderly age groups dichotomously. This

study maps the continuum of normal age-related changes in rCBF from early to

mid-adulthood. We obtained images from 37 healthy volunteers between 19 and

50 years of age during an eyes-closed resting baseline condition. There was a

negative correlation between age and rCBF in mesial frontal cortex, involving

the anterior cingulate region (r = 0.63, p<0.001). These findings reflect

differences in the distribution of rCBF evident in early to mid-adulthood

that may be associated with subsequent changes in memory and executive

functioning in later life.