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Analysis of institutional authors

Abellaneda-Pérez KCorresponding AuthorCattaneo GAuthorCabello-Toscano MAuthorMulet-Pons LAuthorVaqué-Alcázar LAuthorPerellón-Alfonso RAuthorSolé-Padullés CAuthorBargallo NAuthorBartres-Faz DCorresponding Author

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Article

Purpose in life promotes resilience to age-related brain burden in middle-aged adults

Publicated to:Alzheimers Research & Therapy. 15 (1): 49- - 2023-03-13 15(1), DOI: 10.1186/s13195-023-01198-6

Authors: Abellaneda-Perez, Kilian; Cattaneo, Gabriele; Cabello-Toscano, Maria; Solana-Sanchez, Javier; Mulet-Pons, Lidia; Vaque-Alcazar, Lidia; Perellon-Alfonso, Ruben; Sole-Padulles, Cristina; Bargallo, Nuria; Tormos, Josep M; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro; Bartres-Faz, David

Affiliations

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Centro de Investigación Traslacional San Alberto Magno, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Valencia, Spain. - Author
Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Casanova, 143, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Casanova, 143, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. dbartres@ub.edu. - Author
Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Casanova, 143, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. kilian.abellaneda@ub.edu. - Author
Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. - Author
Fundacio Inst Invest Ciencies Salut Germans Trias - Author
Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. kilian.abellaneda@ub.edu. - Author
Hebrew SeniorLife, Deanna & Sidney Wolk Ctr Memory Hlth - Author
Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA. - Author
IDIBAPS - Author
Inst Salud Carlos III, CIBERSAM - Author
Inst Univ Neurorehabil Adscrit UAB, Inst Guttmann, Badalona - Author
Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain. dbartres@ub.edu. - Author
Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain. kilian.abellaneda@ub.edu. - Author
Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. dbartres@ub.edu. - Author
Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. kilian.abellaneda@ub.edu. - Author
Magnetic Resonance Image Core Facility (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Neuroradiology Section, Radiology Department, Diagnostic Image Center, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau-Hospital de Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Hosp St Pau, Inst Invest Biomed St Pau, St Pau Memory Unit,Dept Neurol - Author
Univ Catolica Valencia San Vicente Martir, Ctr Invest Traslac San Alberto Magno, Valencia - Author
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. - Author
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. kilian.abellaneda@ub.edu. - Author
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Abstract

Disease-modifying agents to counteract cognitive impairment in older age remain elusive. Hence, identifying modifiable factors promoting resilience, as the capacity of the brain to maintain cognition and function with aging and disease, is paramount. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), education and occupation are typical cognitive reserve proxies. However, the importance of psychological factors is being increasingly recognized, as their operating biological mechanisms are elucidated. Purpose in life (PiL), one of the pillars of psychological well-being, has previously been found to reduce the deleterious effects of AD-related pathological changes on cognition. However, whether PiL operates as a resilience factor in middle-aged individuals and what are the underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown.Data was obtained from 624 middle-aged adults (mean age 53.71 ± 6.9; 303 women) from the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative cohort. Individuals with lower (LP; N = 146) and higher (HP; N = 100) PiL rates, according to the division of this variable into quintiles, were compared in terms of cognitive status, a measure reflecting brain burden (white matter lesions; WMLs), and resting-state functional connectivity, examining system segregation (SyS) parameters using 14 common brain circuits.Neuropsychological status and WMLs burden did not differ between the PiL groups. However, in the LP group, greater WMLs entailed a negative impact on executive functions. Subjects in the HP group showed lower SyS of the dorsal default-mode network (dDMN), indicating lesser segregation of this network from other brain circuits. Specifically, HP individuals had greater inter-network connectivity between specific dDMN nodes, including the frontal cortex, the hippocampal formation, the midcingulate region, and the rest of the brain. Greater functional connectivity in some of these nodes positively correlated with cognitive performance.Expanding previous findings on AD pathology and advanced age, the present results suggest that higher rates of PiL may promote resilience against brain changes already observable in middle age. Furthermore, having a purposeful life implies larger functional integration of the dDMN, which may potentially reflect greater brain reserve associated to better cognitive function.© 2023. The Author(s).

Keywords

AdultAgedAlzheimer diseaseArticleBrainBrain mappingBrain regionBrain reserveCognitionCognitive defectCognitive dysfunctionCognitive reserveCohort analysisControlled studyDefault mode networkDorsal default mode networkExecutive functionFemaleFrontal cortexFunctional connectivityFunctional magnetic resonance imagingHumanHumansMagnetic resonance imagingMaleMidcingulate cortexMiddle agedNerve tractNeural pathwaysNeuroimagingNeuropsychological assessmentNuclear magnetic resonance imagingPathologyPosterior cingulatePrecuneusPsychological resiliencePsychological well-beingPurpose in lifeResilienceRight hippocampusRight superior frontal nodeThalamusVentral default mode networkWhite matter lesion

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Alzheimers Research & Therapy due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 14/280, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Clinical Neurology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.76. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.63 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 8.23 (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-21, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 7
  • Scopus: 8
  • Europe PMC: 2
  • OpenCitations: 3

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-21:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 90.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 90 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 58.23.
  • The number of mentions on the social network Facebook: 1 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 16 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 7 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United States of America.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Abellaneda Pérez, Kilian) and Last Author (Bartrés Faz, David).

the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been Abellaneda Pérez, Kilian and Bartrés Faz, David.