Brain glucose signals were less complex in older adults
An observational study of 84 adults linked more complex glucose signals to greater variation in brain network coordination; cognitive associations largely reflected age differences.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Preprint: cross-sectional study of 84 adults, against younger adults
- What changed:
- Brain glucose signals were less complex in older adults than in younger adults
- The catch:
- Changes in glucose-signal complexity as individuals aged were not measured
- Why it’s aging research:
- It looks at how biology varies with age or lifespan.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Eighty-four adults underwent two simultaneous types of brain scan in an observational study, tracking glucose use and blood-related signals. Researchers measured the signals’ complexity, or how unpredictable their patterns were across different timescales.
Older adults had lower complexity in brain glucose signals than younger adults. Greater glucose-signal complexity was associated with greater variation in how brain networks coordinated their activity. Greater regional metabolic complexity also correlated with a thicker cerebral cortex, the brain’s outer layer, and higher glucose use and blood flow. Blood-related signal complexity was not significantly associated with network dynamics. Higher overall metabolic complexity was linked to better cognitive performance, but age differences largely accounted for the cognitive associations.
Why it matters
The authors suggest that the complexity of brain glucose signals may offer a biologically grounded way to measure brain aging.
Caveats
The observational links leave open whether metabolic complexity supports network coordination or merely varies alongside it. This preprint has not been peer-reviewed.
- Metabolic complexity
- Cognitive performance
- Cerebral blood flow
- Cerebral metabolic rate of glucose
- Cortical thickness
- Humans
The paper
Monash University
bioRxiv, Nov 3, 2026, Open access, Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed
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