Longitudinal changes in control energy of brain networks in older adults at familial risk for Alzheimers disease
- 1McGill University
Abstract
The ability of structural brain networks to control neural dynamics is affected by healthy and pathological aging, including Alzheimers disease (AD). According to network control theory, transitions between functional brain states incur energetic costs. How these costs change longitudinally with aging remains unknown. Here, in 279 older adults at familial risk for AD, control energy increased longitudinally for state maintenance and transitions between sensorimotor and attentional networks, while decreasing for another sensorimotor--attentional transition. Changes in transition costs between higher-order networks were associated with cognitive performance: greater DorsAttn--Executive cost was associated with poorer immediate memory, while lower Executive--Def+Lim cost was associated with poorer attention. Higher plasma p-tau181 was associated with lower DorsAttn--Def+Lim transition cost. These findings reveal transition-specific alterations in the energetic landscape of aging and distinct relationships with cognition and AD pathology. Together, they highlight energetic constraints on brain network reconfiguration as a complementary perspective on neurocognitive aging.
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BibTeX
@misc{skolasinska2026longitudinal,
title = {{Longitudinal changes in control energy of brain networks in older adults at familial risk for Alzheimers disease}},
author = {P. Skolasinska and A. Wearn and D. O'Sullivan and I. Stallworthy and J. K. Brynildsen and I. R. Leppert and C. L. Tardif and G. R. Turner and D. S. Bassett and R. N. Spreng and for the PREVENT-AD Research Group},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.06.749740},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.06.749740v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Longitudinal changes in control energy of brain networks in older adults at familial risk for Alzheimers disease
AU - P. Skolasinska
AU - A. Wearn
AU - D. O'Sullivan
AU - I. Stallworthy
AU - J. K. Brynildsen
AU - I. R. Leppert
AU - C. L. Tardif
AU - G. R. Turner
AU - D. S. Bassett
AU - R. N. Spreng
AU - for the PREVENT-AD Research Group
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/06
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.06.749740
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.06.749740v1
AB - The ability of structural brain networks to control neural dynamics is affected by healthy and pathological aging, including Alzheimers disease (AD). According to network control theory, transitions between functional brain states incur energetic costs. How these costs change longitudinally with aging remains unknown. Here, in 279 older adults at familial risk for AD, control energy increased longitudinally for state maintenance and transitions between sensorimotor and attentional networks, while decreasing for another sensorimotor--attentional transition. Changes in transition costs between higher-order networks were associated with cognitive performance: greater DorsAttn--Executive cost was associated with poorer immediate memory, while lower Executive--Def+Lim cost was associated with poorer attention. Higher plasma p-tau181 was associated with lower DorsAttn--Def+Lim transition cost. These findings reveal transition-specific alterations in the energetic landscape of aging and distinct relationships with cognition and AD pathology. Together, they highlight energetic constraints on brain network reconfiguration as a complementary perspective on neurocognitive aging.
ER -