Characteristics of resting-state functional connectivity in older adults after the PICMOR intervention program: a preliminary report

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to provide a basis for future research examining the neural mechanisms that underlie the beneficial effect of an intervention program, Photo-Integrated Conversation Moderated by Robots (PICMOR), on verbal fluency in older adults as identified in our previous randomized controlled trial. In this preliminary report, we conducted an additional experiment using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) after the intervention period. Specifically, we investigated the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) characteristics of the intervention group (INT) compared to the control group (CONT). METHODS: rsfMRI data were acquired from 31 and 30 participants in INT and CONT, respectively, after the intervention. In the analyses, two of the most important regions in verbal fluency, the left inferior and middle frontal gyri, were selected as seed regions, and the rsFCs were compared between groups. We also conducted regression analyses for rsFCs using the difference in individual phonemic verbal fluency task (PVFT) scores between the pre- and post-intervention periods (i.e., post- minus pre-intervention) as an independent variable. RESULTS: We found higher rsFC in INT than in CONT between the left inferior frontal gyrus as a seed region and the temporal pole and middle frontal gyrus. The rsFC strength between the left inferior frontal gyrus and temporal pole positively correlated with an increased PVFT score between the pre- and post-intervention periods. In contrast, we found lower rsFC in INT than in CONT between the left middle frontal gyrus as a seed region and the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and postcentral gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the beneficial intervention effect of PICMOR on verbal fluency is characterized by enhanced rsFC of the left inferior frontal gyrus with semantic and executive control-related regions and suppressed rsFC between the left middle frontal gyrus and posterior cortical midline structures. No definitive conclusions can be made because of a lack of rsfMRI data before the intervention. However, this pilot study provides the candidates for rsFCs, reflecting the beneficial effects of PICMOR on the brain network involved in verbal fluency. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was retrospectively registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000036667) (May 7th, 2019). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary information accompanies this paper at 10.1186/s12877-020-01892-2.