ArticleHuman brain mapping2018
Age-related differences in GABA levels are driven by bulk tissue changes.
Article in Human brain mapping, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Neurochemical changes in GABA+, Glx, and the excitatory/inhibitory ratio in the calcarine cortex with healthy aging.NeuroImage · 2025Article
- Local homeostasis preserves global neural dynamics compensating for structural loss during human lifespan aging.Communications biology · 2025Article
- GABA Levels Are Significantly Reduced in the Visual, Motor, and Auditory Cortex of Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.Aging and disease · 2025Article
- Hippocampal and prefrontal GABA and glutamate concentration contribute to component processes of working memory in aging.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2025Article
- GABA, Glx, and GSH in the cerebellum: their role in motor performance and learning across age groups.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- Differential regulation of brain microvessel transcriptome and brain metabolome by western and heart-healthy dietary patterns in Ossabaw pigs.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Age and visual cortex inhibition: a TMS-MRS study.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2024Article
- Visual surround suppression at the neural and perceptual levels.Cognitive neurodynamics · 2024Review
- GABA levels decline with age: A longitudinal study.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Baseline GABA+ levels in areas associated with sensorimotor control predict initial and long-term motor learning progress.Human brain mapping · 2024Article
- GABA, Aging and Exercise: Functional and Intervention Considerations.Neuroscience insights · 2024Review
- SIRT2 transgenic over-expression does not impact lifespan in mice.Aging cell · 2023Article
- A comprehensive guide to MEGA-PRESS for GABA measurement.Analytical biochemistry · 2023Review
- The influence of season on glutamate and GABA levels in the healthy human brain investigated by magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging.Human brain mapping · 2023Article
- Brain total creatine differs between primary progressive aphasia (PPA) subtypes and correlates with disease severity.Neurobiology of aging · 2023Article
- Altered Bimanual Kinetic and Kinematic Motor Control Capabilities in Older Women.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Synchrony in auditory 40-Hz gamma oscillations increases in older age and correlates with hearing abilities and cortical GABA levels.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2023Article
- GABA signaling triggered by TMC-1/Tmc delays neuronal aging by inhibiting the PKC pathway inScience advances · 2022Article
- The interaction between endogenous GABA, functional connectivity, and behavioral flexibility is critically altered with advanced age.Communications biology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Levels of GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, can be regionally quantified using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Although GABA is crucial for efficient neuronal functioning, little is known about age-related differences in GABA levels and their relationship with age-related changes in brain structure. Here, we investigated the effect of age on GABA levels within the left sensorimotor cortex and the occipital cortex in a sample of 85 young and 85 older adults using the MEGA-PRESS sequence. Because the distribution of GABA varies across different brain tissues, various correction methods are available to account for this variation. Considering that these correction methods are highly dependent on the tissue composition of the voxel of interest, we examined differences in voxel composition between age groups and the impact of these various correction methods on the identification of age-related differences in GABA levels. Results indicated that, within both voxels of interest, older (as compared to young adults) exhibited smaller gray matter fraction accompanied by larger fraction of cerebrospinal fluid. Whereas uncorrected GABA levels were significantly lower in older as compared to young adults, this age effect was absent when GABA levels were corrected for voxel composition. These results suggest that age-related differences in GABA levels are at least partly driven by the age-related gray matter loss. However, as alterations in GABA levels might be region-specific, further research should clarify to what extent gray matter changes may account for age-related differences in GABA levels within other brain regions.
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Registered trials
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