Age-related neural correlates of cognitive task performance under increased postural load

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Postural control in aging is linked to cognitive and visuospatial demands.
• Concurrent postural and cognitive tasks can impair performance in older adults.
• Neural mechanisms underlying age-related performance decline in dual-tasking are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural basis of age-related differences in cognitive task performance under varying postural loads.
• To identify brain regions involved in visuospatial processing during dual-tasking in aging.

Main Methods:

• Young and older adults performed mental rotation tasks (visuospatial processing) in seated and standing (postural load) conditions.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measured brain activity (BOLD responses).
• Correlation analysis examined the relationship between brain activation and task performance.

Main Results:

• Older adults exhibited greater frontoparietal network activation compared to young adults.
• Despite overall higher activation, older adults modulated brain responses with task complexity.
• Increased activation in the left lingual gyrus predicted better mental rotation performance in older adults under postural load.

Conclusions:

• Aging is associated with altered neural recruitment during demanding cognitive tasks, especially with postural challenges.
• The left lingual gyrus plays a crucial role in maintaining visuospatial task performance in older adults when postural stability is required.