Title | The whole-brain N-acetylaspartate correlates with education in normal adults. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2012 |
Authors | Glodzik L, Wu WE, Babb JS, Achtnichts L, Amann M, Sollberger M, Monsch AU, Gass A, Gonen O |
Journal | Psychiatry Res |
Volume | 204 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | 49-54 |
Date Published | 2012 Oct 30 |
ISSN | 1872-7123 |
Keywords | Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aspartic Acid, Atrophy, Brain, Cognitive Reserve, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Organ Size, Radionuclide Imaging |
Abstract | N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is an index of neuronal integrity. We hypothesized that in healthy subjects its whole brain concentration (WBNAA) may be related to formal educational attainment, a common proxy for cognitive reserve. To test this hypothesis, 97 middle aged to elderly subjects (51-89 years old, 38% women) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and non-localizing proton spectroscopy. Their WBNAA was obtained by dividing their whole-head NAA amount by the brain volume. Intracranial volume and fractional brain volume, a metric of brain atrophy, were also determined. Each subject's educational attainment was the sum of his/her years of formal education. In the entire group higher education was associated with larger intracranial volume. The relationship between WBNAA and education was observed only in younger (51-70 years old) participants. In this group, education explained 21% of the variance in WBNAA. More WBNAA was related to more years of formal education in adults and younger elders. Prospective studies can determine whether this relationship reflects a true advantage from years of training versus innate characteristics predisposing a subject to higher achievements later in life. We propose that late-life WBNAA may be more affected by other factors acting at midlife and later. |
DOI | 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.04.013 |
Alternate Journal | Psychiatry Res |
PubMed ID | 23177924 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC3508436 |
Grant List | R01 NS050520 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01 HL111724 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States R01 EB001015 / EB / NIBIB NIH HHS / United States R56 NS050520 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States EB01015 / EB / NIBIB NIH HHS / United States AG008051 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States NS050520 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States P30 AG008051 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States |
Related Institute:
Brain Health Imaging Institute (BHII)