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Functional deactivations: change with age and dementia of the Alzheimer type
Lustig C, Snyder AZ, Bhakta M, O'Brien KC, McAvoy M, Raichle ME, Morris JC, Buckner RL.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2003-11-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Young adults typically deactivate specific brain regions during active task performance. Deactivated regions overlap with those that show reduced resting metabolic activity in aging and dementia, raising the possibility of a relation. Here, the magnitude and dynamic temporal properties of these typically deactivated regions were explored in aging by using functional MRI in 82 participants. Young adults (n = 32), older adults without dementia (n = 27), and older adults with early-stage dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) (n = 23) were imaged while alternating between blocks of an active semantic classification task and a passive fixation baseline. Deactivation in lateral parietal regions was equivalent across groups; in medial frontal regions, it was reduced by aging but was not reduced further by DAT. Of greatest interest, a medial parietal/ posterior cingulate region showed differences between young adults and older adults without dementia and an even more marked difference with DAT. The temporal profile of the medial parietal/posterior cingulate response suggested that it was initially activated by all three groups, but the response in young adults quickly reversed sign, whereas DAT individuals maintained activation throughout the task block. Exploratory whole-brain analyses confirmed the importance of medial parietal/posterior cingulate cortex differences in aging and DAT. These results introduce important opportunities to explore the functional properties of regions showing deactivations, how their dynamic functional properties relate to their baseline metabolic rates, and how they change with age and dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Lustig, C., Snyder, A. Z., Bhakta, M., O'Brien, K. C., McAvoy, M., Raichle, M. E., et al. (2003). Functional deactivations: change with age and dementia of the Alzheimer type. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2235925100
Vancouver
Lustig C, Snyder AZ, Bhakta M, O'Brien KC, McAvoy M, Raichle ME, et al. Functional deactivations: change with age and dementia of the Alzheimer type. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2003. doi:10.1073/pnas.2235925100. PMID: 14608034.
BibTeX
@article{lustig2003-14608034,
author = {Lustig, C. and Snyder, A. Z. and Bhakta, M. and O'Brien, K. C. and McAvoy, M. and Raichle, M. E. and Morris, J. C. and Buckner, R. L.},
title = {{Functional deactivations: change with age and dementia of the Alzheimer type}},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2235925100},
pmid = {14608034},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2235925100}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The temporal profile of the medial parietal/posterior cingulate response suggested that it was initially activated by all three groups, but the response in young adults quickly reversed sign, whereas DAT individuals maintained activation throughout the task block.
- These results introduce important opportunities to explore the functional properties of regions showing deactivations, how their dynamic functional properties relate to their baseline metabolic rates, and how they change with age and dementia.
Why it matters
In 82 participants, this functional MRI study found that a medial parietal/posterior cingulate region stayed activated throughout a task in people with early Alzheimer-type dementia, unlike in young adults. It is a small imaging study of brain activity and offers no information on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants32
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: journal h-index 1,167 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2003 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 32 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 726 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 29.0 citations a year over 25 year(s) since 2003 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 15 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 33 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Randy L. Buckner: h-index 150 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Howard Hughes Medical Institute: institution h-index 2,008 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 14608034) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
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