Facets of subjective health horizons are differentially linked to brain volume

Abstract

An active lifestyle including physical exercise and novelty processing is considered to promote brain health. Also, subjective future time perspectives (FTP) are known to shape motivation and goal-directed behavior, with links to objective health, well-being, and cognition. Nevertheless, the links between subjective FTP and brain physiology are largely unknown. We report data from 326 healthy older adults who completed the Subjective Health Horizon Questionnaire (SHH-Q) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed associations between (1) the SHH-Q Novelty factor and brain regions of the episodic memory network, and (2) the SHH-Q Body factor and regions contributing to the cortical representation of bodily states. Longitudinal and experimental data are needed to better understand the etiology of these links.