The structure and connectivity of semantic memory in the healthy older adult brain

►Applied principal components analysis of a battery of conceptual tests to derive an index of domain general semantic memory in healthy older adults. ►Employed voxel based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify grey matter and white matter correlates of semantic memory. ►Revealed a predominantly left lateralised network of grey matter regions involving the anterior temporal lobe (ATL), posterior temporal and posterior inferior parietal lobes related to semantic memory. ►Revealed prominent involvement of the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) and uncinate fasciculus fibre pathways in semantic memory.