• Michele Porcu, Luigi Cocco, Josep Puig, Lorenzo Mannelli, Qi Yang, Jasjit S Suri, Giovanni Defazio, and Luca Saba.
• Department of Radiology, AOU Cagliari, University of Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: m.porcu@aoucagliari.it.
• Neuroscience. 2021 Sep 15; 472: 103-115.

AbstractThe global fractional anisotropy (gFA) is a structural marker of white matter myelination and integrity. Previous studies already evidenced that aging-related reduced integrity of specific white matter tracts is associated with decreased functional connectivity in several hubs. However, the correlations between gFA and functional brain connectivity remain unknown. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed structural and functional MR datasets of 79 healthy participants from the Leipzig Study for Mind-Body-Emotion Interactions. DTI model-based method was used to quantify gFA values. We tested associations between gFA, age, and gender. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and ROI-to-ROI connectivity were analyzed in a regression model for evaluating the effects of gFA on brain activity and networking, respectively. A negative correlation was found between gFA and age (ρ = -0.343; p = 0.002). No statistically significant correlation as found between gFA and gender (p = 0.229). Higher values of gFA were associated with increased brain regional activity, including areas of the default mode network. There was a higher degree of correlation between some regions, particularly those that conform to the limbic system. Our study demonstrates that gFA influences regional neural activity and brain networking on resting, particularly the limbic system.Copyright © 2021 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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