Interactive effects of locus coeruleus structure and catecholamine synthesis capacity on cognitive function

Hsiang-Yu Chen; Jourdan H Parent; Claire J Ciampa; Martin J Dahl; Dorothea Hämmerer; Anne Maass; Joseph R Winer; Renat Yakupov; Ben Inglis; Matthew J Betts; Anne S Berry

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1236335

Interactive effects of locus coeruleus structure and catecholamine synthesis capacity on cognitive function

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Sep 6:15:1236335. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1236335. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hsiang-Yu Chen¹, Jourdan H Parent¹, Claire J Ciampa¹, Martin J Dahl^{2

3}, Dorothea Hämmerer⁴, Anne Maass⁵, Joseph R Winer⁶, Renat Yakupov⁵, Ben Inglis⁷, Matthew J Betts^{5

8

9}, Anne S Berry^{1

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, United States.
² Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
³ USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
⁴ Psychological Institute, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
⁵ Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Magdeburg, Germany.
⁶ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
⁷ Henry H. Wheeler Jr. Brain Imaging Center, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
⁸ Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
⁹ Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
¹⁰ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States.

Abstract

Background: The locus coeruleus (LC) produces catecholamines (norepinephrine and dopamine) and is implicated in a broad range of cognitive functions including attention and executive function. Recent advancements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approaches allow for the visualization and quantification of LC structure. Human research focused on the LC has since exploded given the LC's role in cognition and relevance to current models of psychopathology and neurodegenerative disease. However, it is unclear to what extent LC structure reflects underlying catecholamine function, and how LC structure and neurochemical function are collectively associated with cognitive performance.

Methods: A partial least squares correlation (PLSC) analysis was applied to 19 participants' LC structural MRI measures and catecholamine synthesis capacity measures assessed using [¹⁸F]Fluoro-m-tyrosine ([¹⁸F]FMT) positron emission tomography (PET).

Results: We found no direct association between LC-MRI and LC-[¹⁸F]FMT measures for rostral, middle, or caudal portions of the LC. We found significant associations between LC neuroimaging measures and neuropsychological performance that were driven by rostral and middle portions of the LC, which is in line with LC cortical projection patterns. Specifically, associations with executive function and processing speed arose from contributions of both LC structure and interactions between LC structure and catecholamine synthesis capacity.

Conclusion: These findings leave open the possibility that LC MRI and PET measures contribute unique information and suggest that their conjoint use may increase sensitivity to brain-behavior associations in small samples.

Keywords: catecholamine synthesis capacity; locus coeruleus; partial least squares correlation; positron emission tomography; structural magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract

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