Abstract #0333

The link between vascular stiffness and resting-state fMRI measures in healthy aging

Ahmad Hussein¹, Jacob L Matthews¹, Zdenka Pausova^2,3, Catriona Syme², Christopher MacGowan⁴, Bradley J MacIntosh⁵, Tomas Paus⁶, and J. Jean Chen¹

¹Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁴SickKids Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁵Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁶Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

Arterial pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is an established measure of vascular stiffness which is an important risk factor in cardiovascular disease and brain dysfunction. It remains unclear, however, whether PWV variations across age is associated with changes in resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) measures, as the fMRI signal is a heavily vascular signal. In this study, we show that PWV has a significant impact on rs-fMRI signal fluctuation amplitude and functional connectivity. Moreover, PWV effects are distinct from those of age, and may not have neuronal underpinnings.

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