Region-specific aging of the human brain as evidenced by neurochemical profiles measured noninvasively in the posterior cingulate cortex and the occipital lobe using ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 7 T

The concentrations of fourteen neurochemicals associated with metabolism, neurotransmission, antioxidant capacity, and cellular structure were measured noninvasively from two distinct brain regions using ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Seventeen young adults (age 19–22 years) and sixteen cognitively normal older adults (age 70–88 years) were scanned. To increase sensitivity and specificity, ¹H magnetic resonance spectra were obtained at the ultra-high field of 7 T and at ultra-short echo time. The concentrations of neurochemicals were determined using water as an internal reference and accounting for gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid content of the volume of interest. In the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the concentrations of neurochemicals associated with energy (i.e., creatine plus phosphocreatine), membrane turnover (i.e., choline containing compounds), and gliosis (i.e., myo-inositol) were higher in the older adults while the concentrations of N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) and phosphorylethanolamine (PE) were lower. In the occipital cortex (OCC), the concentration of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a marker of neuronal viability, concentrations of the neurotransmitters Glu and NAAG, antioxidant ascorbate (Asc), and PE were lower in the older adults while the concentration of choline containing compounds was higher. Altogether, these findings shed light on how the human brain ages differently depending on region.