Network-specific corpus callosum aging and age-moderated cognitive associations using tract-to-region analysis
1. Commun Biol. 2025 Nov 21;8(1):1823. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-09219-w.
Network-specific corpus callosum aging and age-moderated cognitive associations
using tract-to-region analysis.
Aarabi MH(1).
Author information:
(1)Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
.
The corpus callosum (CC), the brain’s largest white matter commissure, undergoes
significant age-related atrophy that varies across subregions. However, how
network-specific callosal connections age and relate to cognitive performance
remains poorly understood. We analyzed diffusion-weighted imaging data from 718
healthy adults (ages 36-100 years) from the Human Connectome Project-Aging
dataset. Using a tract-to-region approach, we quantified CC tract density within
seven canonical functional networks. Cubic polynomial models examined
network-specific aging trajectories, while correlation and moderation analyses
investigated relationships with cognitive and motor performance across age
groups. Network-specific CC tract densities showed distinct aging patterns.
Somatomotor and Default Mode networks exhibited highest baseline tract density
but steepest age-related declines (β = -0.068 and -0.025, respectively,
p