{
  "abstract": "Aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are accompanied by alterations to large-scale communication patterns in the brain, which can be tracked in vivo using functional connectivity. The location, direction and relevance of these changes remain widely debated, although they are rarely studied in the context of whole-cortex communication dynamics. Here, in two independent cohorts (BioFINDER-2, N = 973; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, N = 129), we show that functional connectivity changes associated with aging and AD are strongly aligned with separate fundamental axes of hierarchical brain communication. Early accumulation of AD pathology and subsequent cognitive decline are both linked to functional change along the sensory–association axis. Meanwhile, age-related functional changes occur along the representation–executive axis consistently throughout the adult lifespan. These findings together suggest that both AD and aging alter major but orthogonal functional pathways in the brain. More broadly, our findings position whole-brain connectivity dynamics as a unifying framework for interpreting functional changes across the adult lifespan.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, SciLifeLab, Lund University, Lund, Sweden",
    "Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany",
    "Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden",
    "Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden",
    "Penn Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Philadelphia, PA USA",
    "Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA USA",
    "Penn-Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA",
    "Data Science for Integrated Diagnostics (AI2D), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA",
    "Diagnostic Radiology, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden",
    "Image and Function, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden",
    "Department of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA USA",
    "Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden",
    "Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands",
    "Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, the Netherlands"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 21,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jonathan Rittmo",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5075-0166"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Nicolai Franzmeier",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9736-2283"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Olof Strandberg"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Léa Chauveau",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5965-3194"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6,
        7,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Theodore D. Satterthwaite",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7072-9399"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Laura E. M. Wisse"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Nicola Spotorno",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5404-8788"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Harry H. Behjat",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6729-6801"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Amir Dehsarvi",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7116-9741"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Danielle van Westen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8649-9874"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Toomas Erik Anijärv",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3650-4230"
    },
    {
      "name": "Susan M. Landau"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Susan M. Landau"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Susan M. Landau"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Sebastian Palmqvist",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9267-1930"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Shorena Janelidze",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2869-8378"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Erik Stomrud"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        13,
        14
      ],
      "name": "Rik Ossenkoppele",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1584-7477"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8885-7724"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Oskar Hansson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8467-7286"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jacob W. Vogel",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6394-9940"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7nhvd6gs3khcr.bib",
  "cited_by": 2,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41593-026-02402-0",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13724280/",
  "id": "7nhvd6gs3khcr",
  "issns": [
    "1097-6256",
    "1546-1726"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02402-0",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Functional Brain Connectivity Studies"
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  "openalex": "W7215067935",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13724280",
  "pmid": "42823476",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7nhvd6gs3khcr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:22:52Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13724280",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02402-0"
    }
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Functional Brain Connectivity Studies",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Different functional connectivity gradients reflect aging and Alzheimer’s disease",
  "title_text": "Different functional connectivity gradients reflect aging and Alzheimer’s disease",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:20:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7nhvd6gs3khcr",
  "venue": "Nature Neuroscience",
  "versions": []
}