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Age-related differences in brain activity in the subsequent memory paradigm: a meta-analysis
David Maillet1, M Natasha Rajah2
1Department of Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T5, Canada.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|June 29, 2014
Summary
Older adults show different brain activity during memory encoding, with less activity in some areas and more in others. This may reflect a shift in cognitive strategies as people age.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Healthy aging is linked to declines in episodic memory.
- Age-related changes in memory encoding processes are a key factor.
Purpose of the Study:
- To meta-analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on age-related differences in neural correlates of episodic encoding.
- To investigate brain activation patterns during successful memory encoding in older adults compared to younger adults.
Main Methods:
- Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analysis.
- Inclusion of studies using the subsequent memory paradigm.
- Analysis of fMRI data from studies comparing young and older adults.
Main Results:
- Older adults showed reduced activation in occipital and fusiform cortex.
- Over-recruitment was observed in frontal, precuneus, and parietal regions in older adults.
- Over-recruited regions in older adults overlapped with regions associated with unsuccessful encoding in younger adults.
Conclusions:
- Age-related differences in episodic memory encoding involve distinct neural activation patterns.
- These patterns may indicate a shift from perceptual detail processing to more evaluative and self-referential processing.
- The functional significance of these age-related brain activation differences requires further investigation.
