Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38270836›Full record

ArticleBrain imaging and behavior2024

More organized white matter is associated with positivity bias in older adults.

Petra V Viher, Johanna Seitz-Holland, Marc S Schulz, Elizabeth A Kensinger, Sarina Karmacharya, Talis Swisher, Amanda E Lyall, Nikos Makris, Sylvain Bouix, Martha E Shenton and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brain imaging and behavior, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Consciousness, subjectivity, and aging in western thought.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Petra V Viher *Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Johanna Seitz-Holland *Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Marc S SchulzDepartment of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, USA.
Elizabeth A KensingerDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Boston, MA, USA.
Sarina KarmacharyaDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Talis SwisherDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Amanda E LyallDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Nikos MakrisDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Sylvain BouixDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Martha E ShentonDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Marek KubickiDepartment of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. kubicki@bwh.harvard.edu.
Robert J WaldingerDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.

Funding

Neural substrates of diffusion imaging in cognitively aging rhesus monkeysR01AG042512 · NIA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI KUBICKI, MAREK, MAKRIS, NIKOLAOS · 2013 to 2023
$6.5M
Human Connectome Project for Early PsychosisU01MH109977 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI BREIER, ALAN, SHENTON, MARTHA E. · 2016 to 2020
$5.5M
Diffusion Imaging Biomarkers for Risk, Onset and Outcome in SchizophreniaR01MH102377 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI KUBICKI, MAREK · 2014 to 2018
$2.8M
Social and Neural Underpinnings of Octogenarian WellbeingR01AG034554 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI WALDINGER, ROBERT J · 2009 to 2012
$1.5M
Mentoring and Neuroimaging Research on White Matter Pathology in SchizophreniaK24MH110807 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI KUBICKI, MAREK · 2017 to 2021
$945k
Neuroimaging of the Biological Correlates of Early Psychosis: A MR-PET StudyK01MH115247 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI LYALL, AMANDA ELLIS · 2018 to 2022
$889k
Mentoring and neuroimaging research on new targets for DBS in OCDK24MH116366 · NIMH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI MAKRIS, NIKOLAOS · 2018 to 2022
$817k
Towards Developing Biomarkers for Premature Aging in SchizophreniaK99MH131850 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI SEITZ-HOLLAND, JOHANNA · 2023 to 2024
$261k
Imaging White Matter Maturation and Genetic High Risk for SchizophreniaR03MH110745 · NIMH · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI LYALL, AMANDA ELLIS · 2016 to 2017
$178k
Mary and John Osterhaus and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation BBRF NARSAD Young Investigator grantsNIA NIH HHS R01 AG034554NIA NIH HHS R01 AG042512NIH HHS AG042512NIH HHS R01 AG034554NIH HHS R03 MH110745NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH115247NIMH NIH HHS K24 MH110807NIMH NIH HHS K24 MH116366NIMH NIH HHS K99 MH131850NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH102377NIMH NIH HHS R03 MH110745NIMH NIH HHS U01 MH109977Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung P400PM_199291VA Merit Award and U01 MH109977
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

On average, healthy older adults prefer positive over neutral or negative stimuli. This positivity bias is related to memory and attention processes and is linked to the function and structure of several interconnected brain areas. However, the relationship between the positivity bias and white matter integrity remains elusive. The present study examines how white matter organization relates to the degree of the positivity bias among older adults. We collected imaging and behavioral data from 25 individuals (12 females, 13 males, and a mean age of 77.32). Based on a functional memory task, we calculated a Pos-Neg score, reflecting the memory for positively valenced information over negative information, and a Pos-Neu score, reflecting the memory for positively valenced information over neutral information. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data were processed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. We performed two non-parametric permutation tests to correlate whole brain white matter integrity and the Pos-Neg and Pos-Neu scores while controlling for age, sex, and years of education. We observed a statistically significant positive association between the Pos-Neu score and white matter integrity in multiple brain connections, mostly frontal. The results did not remain significant when including verbal episodic memory as an additional covariate. Our study indicates that the positivity bias in memory in older adults is associated with more organized white matter in the connections of the frontal brain. While these frontal areas are critical for memory and executive processes and have been related to pathological aging, more extensive studies are needed to fully understand their role in the positivity bias and the potential for therapeutic interventions.

Indexed as

BrainWhite MatterAgedAged, 80 and overAgingAttentionDiffusion Magnetic Resonance ImagingDiffusion Tensor ImagingEmotionsFemaleHumansMaleMemoryNeural PathwaysNeuropsychological TestsAgingBrain structureExecutive functioningMemoryPositivity bias

Identifiers

PMID38270836
PMCPMC11222031

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.