Effects of aging on visuospatial performance and cerebral activation and lateralization: an FMRI study

This study examines the differences between visuospatial performance of subjects in their 20s and 40s, including the number of activated voxels and cerebral lateralization using functional magnetic resonance imaging during visuospatial tasks. Eight college students in their 20s (21.5 +/- 2.3 years old) and six adults in their 40s (45.7 +/- 2.6 years old) participated in the experiment. Functional brain images were taken from 3T magnetic resonance imaging using the single-shot echo planar imaging method. Compared to subjects in their 20s, those in their 40s showed lower visuospatial performance, longer reaction time, and a smaller number of activated voxels. There was no difference in cerebral lateralization between the two age groups.