The whole-brain N-acetylaspartate correlates with education in normal adults.
| Publication Type | Academic Article |
| Authors | Glodzik L, Wu W, Babb J, Achtnichts L, Amann M, Sollberger M, Monsch A, Gass A, Gonen O |
| Journal | Psychiatry Res |
| Volume | 204 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pagination | 49-54 |
| Date Published | 10/30/2012 |
| ISSN | 1872-7123 |
| Keywords | Aspartic Acid, Brain |
| Abstract | N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is an index of neuronal integrity. We hypothesized that in healthy subjects its whole brain concentration (WBNAA) may be related to formal educational attainment, a common proxy for cognitive reserve. To test this hypothesis, 97 middle aged to elderly subjects (51-89 years old, 38% women) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and non-localizing proton spectroscopy. Their WBNAA was obtained by dividing their whole-head NAA amount by the brain volume. Intracranial volume and fractional brain volume, a metric of brain atrophy, were also determined. Each subject's educational attainment was the sum of his/her years of formal education. In the entire group higher education was associated with larger intracranial volume. The relationship between WBNAA and education was observed only in younger (51-70 years old) participants. In this group, education explained 21% of the variance in WBNAA. More WBNAA was related to more years of formal education in adults and younger elders. Prospective studies can determine whether this relationship reflects a true advantage from years of training versus innate characteristics predisposing a subject to higher achievements later in life. We propose that late-life WBNAA may be more affected by other factors acting at midlife and later. |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.04.013 |
| PubMed ID | 23177924 |
| PubMed Central ID | PMC3508436 |