Microstructural Brain Signatures of Adaptive Cognitive Strategies in Long-Lived Bats: An ROI-based DTI and Behavioral Resilience Analysis

Abstract: Understanding the mechanisms of extended cognitive lifespan in exceptionally long-lived species like bats is crucial for aging research. This study investigated cognitive aging in 31 Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus, aged 6.6-15.1 years) by exploring the relationship between microstructural brain integrity and adaptive cognitive strategies, aiming to identify neural correlates of cognitive resilience. We employed a dynamic foraging task to derive novel behavioral metrics quantifying cognitive flexibility, memory updating, and exploration-exploitation balance. Concurrently, region-of-interest (ROI) based Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was used to assess brain microstructure (Fractional Anisotropy, Mean Diffusivity, Axial Diffusivity, Radial Diffusivity) in 24 predefined regions. Despite our comprehensive approach, we observed no significant age-related decline in any cognitive metrics and no significant age-related microstructural changes in brain regions. Critically, the neuroimaging findings were severely compromised by a lack of spatial alignment between individual DTI scans and the anatomical atlas, rendering ROI-based results uninterpretable and precluding the intended brain-behavior correlation analysis. These results underscore significant methodological challenges inherent in pioneering neuroimaging and behavioral research in non-model species, emphasizing the critical need for robust species-specific neuroimaging templates and validated registration pipelines to accurately characterize the neural underpinnings of exceptional longevity in bats.

Subjects:	q-bio.NC; q-bio.QM
Cite as:	PX:2508.00037