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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
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Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Age differences in prefontal recruitment during verbal working memory maintenance depend on memory load.
Katherine A Cappell1, Leon Gmeindl, Patricia A Reuter-Lorenz
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, East Hall, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Summary
Older adults show different brain activation patterns during verbal memory tasks. Increased activation at low loads and decreased activation at high loads support the Compensation-Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Aging
Background:
- Age-related changes in brain activation are observed in neuroimaging studies.
- Both under-activation and over-activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) occur in older adults during verbal working memory (WM) tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how memory load influences age-related differences in brain activation.
- To test the Compensation-Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis (CRUNCH) in verbal WM.
Main Methods:
- Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
- Participants performed verbal WM tasks with varying memory loads.
Main Results:
- Older adults showed over-activation in the right DLPFC at lower memory loads, with equivalent accuracy to younger adults.
- At the highest memory load, older adults exhibited less DLPFC activation and lower accuracy compared to younger adults.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the CRUNCH hypothesis, suggesting older brains recruit more resources for cognitive tasks.
- Age-related compensation can have performance costs at higher cognitive demands.
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