Poster No:
779
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Hankyeong Lee1, Sung-Ha Lee2, Yoosik Youm3, Jeanyung Chey1
Institutions:
1Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 2Center for Happiness Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, 3Department of Sociology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Sung-Ha Lee
Center for Happiness Studies, Seoul National University
Seoul, Korea
Yoosik Youm
Department of Sociology, Yonsei University
Seoul, Korea
Introduction:
The psychological well-being (PWB) has been reported to be associated with physical (e.g., proinflammatory markers, mortality) and cognitive health in older adults. However, research on the neural underpinnings of the PWB remains notably insufficient. Here, we examined whether PWB in older Koreans exhibits a protective effect on cognitive and daily functions. Also, we explored the question of what brain functional connectivity serves as the mechanism underlying PWB.
Methods:
1. Participants: 128 individuals (aged 65 and above) were recruited residing in rural areas of South Korea in 2018, without a history of psychiatric or neurological conditions, and capable of undergoing a series of neuropsychological assessments. Among them, 65 individuals with feasible MRI scans were subjected to analysis. Furthermore, 107 and 65 participants from the initial cohort underwent additional longitudinal neurocognitive assessments in 2021 and 2023, respectively.
2. Measurement
- Memory assessment: Using the Elderly Memory Scale (EMS), the working memory index was calculated through a composite of digit span and spatial span tests (forward and backward).
- Daily Functioning: Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) was inspected using an 11-item questionnaire.
- Psychological well-being: Psychological Well-Being scale (PWB) was measured using Ryff's (1995) Psychological Well-Being Scale, consisting of 18 items.
3. Resting State Functional Connectivity: Resting-state fMRI was acquired using a 3T Siemens scanner with parameters including TR=2000ms, TE=30ms, FOV=240mm, and voxel size=3.0 x 3.0 x 3.0mm. Connectivity analysis, including preprocessing, was conducted using the CONN toolbox 22.a (Whitfield-Gabrieli & Nieto-Castanon, 2012).
4. ROI definition and group difference: To set the seed for PWB, we selected regions of interest (ROIs) deemed relevant to reward and threat based on prior studies (Reward: Left VMPFC, Left DMPFC, Left VLPFC, Left and Right Ventral Striatum; Threat: Left and Right Amygdala). Seed-to-voxel analysis was performed using these ROIs. Employing a median-split approach to categorize PWB high and low groups, we identified regions showing significant differences between the two groups. Z-transformed Fisher's correlation coefficients were extracted for subsequent regression analysis.
5. Statistical analysis: Using SPSS 26, Linear regression analyses were conducted. All analyses controlled for age, gender, and education, considering PWB showed significat correlations with these variables.
Results:
1. PWB was significantly associated with better Working Memory (β=0.279, p=0.015) and less longitudinal decline in IADL (β =0.311, p=0.031) after controlling for age, gender, and educational attainment.
2. Lower PWB was significantly associated with increased connectivity between threat-related regions and proximal, emotion related areas. Specifically, as PWB decreased, there is an increase in connectivity between the left amygdala and right planum temporal (β=-0.490, p<.001), left precentral gyrus (β =-0.343, p=.014), and right precentral gyrus (β=-0.353, p=.008). Similarly, the right amygdala and left postcentral gyrus (β=-0.349, p=.012), right precentral gyrus (β=-0.352, p=.010), and right postcentral gyrus (β=-0.317, p=.025) showed increased connectivity as PWB decreases. Conversely, as PWB decreases, connectivity between the right amygdala and right frontal pole (β=0.465, p=.001), right anterior paracingulate gyrus (β=0.312, p=.023), and right angular gyrus (β=0.447, p=.001) exhibited a decreasing pattern.
Conclusions:
1. Psychological Well-Being was systematically related with cognitive and daily living functioning of older adults.
2. Lower Psychological Well-Being may be associated with heightened sensitivity to threat stimuli, as indicated by increased connectivity between the amygdala and proximal emotion-related regions, along with decreased connectivity between the amygdala and distal regions associated with integrative and adaptive functioning.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Self Processes 1
Social Neuroscience Other 2
Keywords:
Aging
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - Psychological Well Being; Cognition; IADL
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Provide references using author date format
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of personality and social psychology, 69(4), 719.
Chey, J. Y. (2007). Elderly memory disorder scale. Seoul, Hakjisa.
Eisenberger, N. I., & Cole, S. W. (2012). Social neuroscience and health: neurophysiological mechanisms linking social ties with physical health. Nature neuroscience, 15(5), 669-674.
Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., & Nieto-Castanon, A. (2012). Conn: a functional connectivity toolbox for correlated and anticorrelated brain networks. Brain connectivity, 2(3), 125-141.