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Neural distinctiveness declines with age in auditory cortex and is associated with auditory GABA levels

View ORCID ProfilePoortata Lalwani, Holly Gagnon, Kaitlin Cassady, Molly Simmonite, Scott Peltier, Rachael D. Seidler, Stephan F. Taylor, Daniel H. Weissman, Thad A. Polk
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/470781
Poortata Lalwani
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Holly Gagnon
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Kaitlin Cassady
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Molly Simmonite
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Scott Peltier
2Department of Bioengineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Rachael D. Seidler
3Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Stephan F. Taylor
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
4Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Daniel H. Weissman
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Thad A. Polk
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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  • For correspondence: tpolk@umich.edu
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Abstract

Neural activation patterns in the ventral visual cortex in response to different categories of visual stimuli (e.g., faces vs. houses) are less selective, or distinctive, in older adults than in younger adults, a phenomenon known as age-related neural dedifferentiation. Previous work in animals suggests that age-related reductions of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), may play a role in this age-related decline in neural distinctiveness. In this study, we investigated whether neural dedifferentiation extends to auditory cortex and whether individual differences in GABA are associated with individual differences in neural distinctiveness in humans. 20 healthy young adults (ages 18-29) and 23 healthy older adults (over 65) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan, during which neural activity was estimated while they listened to foreign speech and music. GABA levels in the auditory, ventrovisual and sensorimotor cortex were estimated in the same individuals in a separate magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scan. Relative to the younger adults, the older adults exhibited both (1) less distinct activation patterns for music vs. speech stimuli and (2) lower GABA levels in the auditory cortex. Also, individual differences in auditory GABA levels (but not ventrovisual or sensorimotor GABA levels) predicted individual differences in neural distinctiveness in the auditory cortex in the older adults. These results demonstrate that age-related neural dedifferentiation extends to the auditory cortex and suggest that declining GABA levels may play a role in neural dedifferentiation in older adults.

Significance Statement Prior work has revealed age-related neural dedifferentiation in the visual cortex. GABA levels also decline with age in several parts of the human cortex. Here, we report that these two age-related changes are linked; neural dedifferentiation is associated with lower GABA levels in older adults. We also show that age-related neural dedifferentiation extends to auditory cortex, suggesting that it may be a general feature of the aging brain. These findings provide novel insights into the neurochemical basis of age-related neural dedifferentiation in humans and also offer a potential new avenue for investigating age-related declines in central auditory processing.

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  • Conflict of Interest The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Posted November 15, 2018.
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Neural distinctiveness declines with age in auditory cortex and is associated with auditory GABA levels
Poortata Lalwani, Holly Gagnon, Kaitlin Cassady, Molly Simmonite, Scott Peltier, Rachael D. Seidler, Stephan F. Taylor, Daniel H. Weissman, Thad A. Polk
bioRxiv 470781; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/470781
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Neural distinctiveness declines with age in auditory cortex and is associated with auditory GABA levels
Poortata Lalwani, Holly Gagnon, Kaitlin Cassady, Molly Simmonite, Scott Peltier, Rachael D. Seidler, Stephan F. Taylor, Daniel H. Weissman, Thad A. Polk
bioRxiv 470781; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/470781

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