S-036
Structural and Functional MRI Markers of Brain Health Phenotypes: Evidence from Latin America
Sandra Milena Castelblanco Toro1,2,3, Hernando Santamaría-García1,2,4
  1. Institute of Aging of the Faculty of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  2. Neuroscience PhD(c), Psychiatry Department, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  3. Intellectus Memory and Cognition Center, San Ignacio University Hospital, Bogotá, DC, Colombia
  4. Director Neuroscience PhD, Psychiatry Department, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
Presenting Author:
Sandra Milena Castelblanco
sandracastelblanco@javeriana.edu.co
Background: Brain health phenotyping integrates clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging measures to characterize neural and functional differences in aging. Aim: To compare the demographic, cognitive, structural, and functional neuroimaging profiles of Latin American cohort aged >50. Methods: From the RedLat consortium, 275 participants with structural MRI were classified as optimal brain health (OBH, n = 90), general brain health (GBH, n = 79), or brain health deficit (BHD, n = 106); 182 also had resting-state fMRI. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and intra-network connectivity for 10 canonical resting-state networks were analyzed using ANOVA and FDR-corrected post hoc tests. Results: Groups differed significantly in age and education. VBM revealed focal gray matter reductions in GBH versus OBH, mainly in the left middle temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus, and insula (>FDRp< 0.05). BHD showed bilateral atrophy relative to OBH involving simillar regions pluss temporal lobes, hippocampi, amygdalae, putamen,and cerebellum (all FDR p < 0.001). Functionally, somatomotor network connectivity was reduced in BHD compared with OBH (FDR p= 0.001), and default mode network (DMN) connectivity was lower in BHD compared with both OBH and GBH (FDR p= 0.028). Conclusion: These results support integrated structural–functional phenotyping as a target for early detection and intervention in aging populations.