Structural Networks associated with gait speed in older adults with and without MS.

Motivation: : Mobility disability is common in older adults and understanding how mobility relates to specific brain regions in older adults with Multiple sclerosis (OAMS) is of utmost importance. Goal(s): Identify specific networks predictive of mobility measures in OAMS and controls. Approach: Source-based morphometry was applied to T1 scans, in a cohort of 209 older adults [103 MS; 106 controls; 66.5±6.3 years], to extract grey matter structural covariance networks. Results: Subcortical (putamen and thalamus) and occipital-temporal networks showed significant associations with gait speed. The results provide new insights into brain - behavior associations in older adults with and without MS. Impact: The association of GM structural covariance networks in subcortical brain regions among a sample of older adults to cognitive measures provides insights into research in brain - behavior associations in the broad field of neuropsychology and aging.