Hanzhang Lu1, Yamei Cheng1, Andrew Hebrank2, Blair Flicker2, Uma S. Yezhuvath1, Karen Rodrigue2, Kristen Kennedy2, Denise C. Park2
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; 2Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
Aging of the brain is often accompanied by changes in cerebral vasculature. Here we compared the age-related decline in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR). It was found that CBF deficits occur mainly in frontal lobe and anterior cingulate cortex, whereas the CVR decline involves more areas in the brain, including parietal, temporal and frontal lobes. It was concluded that the differential spatial and temporal patterns of CBF and CVR changes during aging can be explained by their sensitivity to different brain processes (CBF to neural metabolism, CVR to vessel integrity).