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Robustness of sex-differences in functional connectivity over time in middle-aged marmosets

Nephew, Benjamin C.
Febo, Marcelo
Cali, Ryan
Workman, Kathryn P.
Payne, Laurellee
Moore, Constance M.
King, Jean A.
Lacreuse, Agnes
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Abstract

Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are an essential research model for gaining a comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms of neurocognitive aging in our own species. In the present study, we used resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) to investigate the relationship between prefrontal cortical and striatal neural interactions, and cognitive flexibility, in unanaesthetized common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) at two time points during late middle age (8 months apart, similar to a span of 5-6 years in humans). Based on our previous findings, we also determine the reproducibility of connectivity measures over the course of 8 months, particularly previously observed sex differences in rsFC. Male marmosets exhibited remarkably similar patterns of stronger functional connectivity relative to females and greater cognitive flexibility between the two imaging time points. Network analysis revealed that the consistent sex differences in connectivity and related cognitive associations were characterized by greater node strength and/or degree values in several prefrontal, premotor and temporal regions, as well as stronger intra PFC connectivity, in males compared to females. The current study supports the existence of robust sex differences in prefrontal and striatal resting state networks that may contribute to differences in cognitive function and offers insight on the neural systems that may be compromised in cognitive aging and age-related conditions such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

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Nephew BC, Febo M, Cali R, Workman KP, Payne L, Moore CM, King JA, Lacreuse A. Robustness of sex-differences in functional connectivity over time in middle-aged marmosets. Sci Rep. 2020 Oct 6;10(1):16647. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73811-9. PMID: 33024242; PMCID: PMC7538565. Link to article on publisher's site

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10.1038/s41598-020-73811-9
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33024242
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Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.