Age-related valence-based reversal in recruitment of medial prefrontal cortex on a visual search task

Previous behavioral research has revealed a positivity effect that occurs with aging, with older adults focusing more on positive information and less on negative emotional stimuli as compared to young adults. Questions have been raised as to whether this effect exists in the rapid detection of information or whether it operates only at later stages of processing. In the present study, we used eye-tracking and neuroimaging methodologies to examine whether the two age groups accomplished the detection of emotional information on a visual search task using the same mechanisms. Eye-tracking results revealed no significant age differences in detection or viewing time of emotional targets as a function of valence. Despite their general similarity in task performance, neuroimaging results revealed an age-related valence-based reversal in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) activity, with detection of negative compared to positive targets activating the MPFC more for younger adults, and detection of positive compared to negative targets activating the MPFC more for older adults. These results suggest that age-related valence reversals in neural activity can exist even on tasks that require only relatively automatic processing of emotional information.