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Vascular Risk, Functional Connectivity, And Episodic Memory In Older Adults, Elizabeth Regina Tuminello Hartman

Dissertations

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional connectivity (FC) analyses are used to explore functional brain networks underlying a diverse array of abilities. Functional networks are composed of regions throughout the brain whose activity is closely linked to form a coherent network. One functional network, the "default mode network" (DMN), is thought to subserve self-referential thought and autobiographical memory. DMN regions include the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobe, hippocampus, and the primary "hub" of this network, the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). For reasons yet unknown, DMN FC declines in aging, which is associated with memory impairment. Vascular risk may …