MRI Assessment of Cerebral White Matter Microvascular Hemodynamics Across the Adult Lifespan

Motivation: The mechanisms underlying age-related structural neurodegeneration are not well understood, limiting our knowledge of atypical versus typical aging. Goal(s): Our goal was to use data involving advanced hemodynamic and structural MRI techniques tailored to white matter to characterize the aging process. Approach: We used data from a large cohort of the Human Connectome Project in Aging to investigate the relationship between brain blood flow and white matter tract microstructural integrity. Results: We found strong relationships between white matter hemodynamics and tract integrity that were affected by both age and sex. Impact: These findings could reveal potential underlying physiological mechanisms behind structural changes during typical aging. This could help us understand healthy brain aging and encourage future research to target hemodynamic biomarkers to understand neurodegeneration.