HAI Book 2025 - Flipbook - Page 665
Sheng, Jintao
161
Associations between age-related tau deposition and neural
selectivity in cognitively unimpaired older adults
Jintao Sheng1, Alexandra Trelle1, Christina Young1, America Romero2, Jennifer Park1, Isha Sai1,
Hillary Vossler1, Anthony Wagner1, Elizabeth Mormino1
1
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, US
2
Objective: Age-related reductions in neural selectivity4the brain9s ability to distinguish between stimuli4have
been associated with cognitive decline in aging. This study examines the influence of age on tau deposition within
cortical regions selective for specific categories and assesses its impact on neural selectivity in a normal aging
cohort.
Methods: Sixty-seven cognitively unimpaired older adults (mean age = 72.73±5.99 years, 35 females) from the
Stanford Aging and Memory Study underwent fMRI during a visual associative memory task (famous faces or
places paired with a noun) and tau-PET with 18F-PI2620 (13 with longitudinal tau-PET, mean follow-up = 3.24±1.58
years). Standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were extracted in face-selective [fusiform face area (FFA) and
occipital face area (OFA)] and place-selective regions [parahippocampal place area (PPA), occipital place area
(OPA), and retrosplenial cortex (RSC)]. Neural selectivity was defined as the difference in univariate activity
between preferred and non-preferred categories (face versus place) during encoding. Linear mixed-effects
models assessed the effects of interest, all controlling for sex and education, with age, amyloid status, and
repeated SUVRs included as needed. The Holm-Bonferroni method was used for multiple comparison corrections
(i.e., pHolm).
Results: Amyloid-positive participants (CSF Ab42/Ab40
