High brain network system segregation is differentially linked with cognitive performance across the life span.
Overview
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University
- Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management, and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University
- Nova Scotia Health Authority
- Psychiatry Brain Imaging Laboratory, Dalhousie University
Abstract
Healthy aging is marked by changes in both cognitive performance and the organization of brain networks. Declines in cognition have been linked to reductions in system segregation (SS), as older adults typically exhibit less segregated functional networks than younger adults. While lower segregation has been associated with diminished cognitive abilities, it remains unclear how individual variability in SS contributes to cognitive outcomes across the lifespan. Here, we examine relationships between SS and three cognitive domains (semantic, executive, episodic memory) using resting-state fMRI data from 179 younger (18–29 years) and 117 older adults (60–89 years). SS was measured globally and for specific networks using Schaefer’s 7-network parcellation. Our findings confirmed a global age-related reduction in SS, particularly impacting the somatomotor, ventral attention, and frontoparietal networks. This reduction in global SS mediated negative effects of age group on semantic and executive performance. When examining younger and older groups separately, we found that higher SS was associated with better semantic performance in both groups, while observing a similar positive association with executive performance only in older adults, suggesting that executive function becomes increasingly dependent on preserved network architecture with age. Maintaining SS may therefore be critical for supporting healthy cognitive aging.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
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Data
Datasets cited
- doi:10.18112/
openneuro.ds003592.v1.0. — at OpenNeuro; found in the references3
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Version 1, 29 September 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 3 authors, 6 keywords, 3 funders, 71 references.
Cite
This paper
Calder, C. N., Helmick, C., & Hashmi, J. A. (2026). High brain network system segregation is differentially linked with cognitive performance across the life span. Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.), 10(2), 352-373. https://
BibTeX
@article{calder2026high,
author = {Calder, Cameron N and Helmick, Carl and Hashmi, Javeria Ali},
title = {{High brain network system segregation is differentially linked with cognitive performance across the life span}},
journal = {Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)},
year = {2026},
month = apr,
volume = {10},
number = {2},
pages = {352--373},
publisher = {MIT Press},
issn = {2472-1751},
doi = {10.1162/
url = {https://
pmid = {42039097},
pmcid = {PMC13108503}
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Calder, Cameron N
AU - Helmick, Carl
AU - Hashmi, Javeria Ali
TI - High brain network system segregation is differentially linked with cognitive performance across the life span
T2 - Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
J2 - Netw Neurosci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
VL - 10
IS - 2
SP - 352
EP - 373
SN - 2472-1751
PB - MIT Press
DO - 10.1162/
UR - https://
LA - en
ER -
CSL-JSON
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