White Matter Integrity and Cognitive Ageing: A Combined Diffusion Tensor and Magnetization Transfer MRI Study

Mark E. Bastin¹, Lars Penke¹, Catherine Murray¹, Susana Muoz Maniega¹, Maria Valdes Hernandez¹, Alan Gow¹, Joanna M. Wardlaw¹, Ian J. Deary¹

Here we present interim data from a unique cohort of subjects, termed the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936). These subjects, who were born in 1936 and underwent cognitive testing in 1947 at age 11, are currently undergoing brain imaging and repeat cognitive testing in their early 70s. These data are used to test the hypothesis that white matter integrity, as measured by diffusion tensor and magnetization transfer MRI, is related to cognitive ability in youth and current age, and efficiency of the brains information processing.