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  • Neighborhood Perceptions Are Associated With Intrinsic Amygdala Activity and Resting-State Connectivity With Salience Network Nodes Among Older Adults

This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2025

Title: Neighborhood Perceptions Are Associated With Intrinsic Amygdala Activity and Resting-State Connectivity With Salience Network Nodes Among Older Adults
ABSTRACT Objective

Neighborhood perceptions are associated with physical and mental health outcomes; however, the biological associates of this relationship remain to be fully understood. Here, we evaluate the relationship between neighborhood perceptions and amygdala activity and connectivity with salience network (i.e., insula, anterior cingulate, thalamus) nodes.

 Methods

Forty-eight older adults (mean age = 68 [7] years, 52% female, 47% non-Hispanic Black, 2% Hispanic) without dementia or depression completed the Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment Scale. Lower scores indicated less favorable perceptions of aesthetic quality, walking environment, availability of healthy food, safety, violence (i.e., more perceived violence), social cohesion, and participation in activities with neighbors. Participants separately underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

 Results

Less favorable perceived safety (β= −0.33,pFDR= .04) and participation in activities with neighbors (β= −0.35,pFDR= .02) were associated with higher left amygdala activity, independent of covariates including psychosocial factors. Less favorable safety perceptions were also associated with enhanced left amygdala functional connectivity with the bilateral insular cortices and the left anterior insula (β= −0.34,pFDR= .04). Less favorable perceived social cohesion was associated with enhanced left amygdala functional connectivity with the right thalamus (β =−0.42,pFDR= .04), and less favorable perceptions about healthy food availability were associated with enhanced left amygdala functional connectivity with the bilateral anterior insula (right:β= −0.39,pFDR= .04; left:β= −0.42,pFDR= .02) and anterior cingulate gyrus (β= −0.37,pFDR= .04).

 Conclusions

Taken together, our findings document relationships between select neighborhood perceptions and amygdala activity as well as connectivity with salience network nodes; if confirmed, targeted community-level interventions and existing community strengths may promote brain-behavior relationships.

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Award ID(s):
2045848
NSF-PAR ID:
10518777
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Psychosomatic Medicine
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Psychosomatic Medicine
Volume:
86
Issue:
2
ISSN:
0033-3174
Page Range / eLocation ID:
116 to 123
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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