Shedding light on gray(ing) areas: Connectivity and task switching dynamics in aging
Pauline L Baniqued1,2, Kathy A Low2, Mark A Fletcher2
1Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California.
Psychophysiology
|March 22, 2017
Summary
Older adults show reduced brain communication efficiency, impacting cognitive control during task switching. Stronger functional connectivity in the frontoparietal network is crucial for optimal performance in aging brains.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Aging
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Control-demanding tasks engage the frontoparietal network, which declines with age.
- Understanding age-related changes in cognitive control is vital for maintaining function in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of preparatory control processes in middle to old age.
- To examine how brain anatomy, electrophysiology, and optical imaging relate to cognitive control during task switching.
Main Methods:
- Integrated electroencephalography (ERPs) and event-related optical signals (EROS) with brain anatomy.
- Utilized a spatial Stroop task requiring participants to switch between position and meaning tasks.
- Analyzed functional connectivity using lagged cross-correlations in the frontoparietal network.
Main Results:
- Older adults exhibited reduced frontal negativity during switch trials, correlated with reaction time costs.
- Functional connectivity between left and right middle frontal gyri predicted performance on a hemisphere-dependent task.
- Anterior corpus callosum volume influenced task-dependent coupling between frontal regions.
Conclusions:
- Strong functional connectivity, supported by structural integrity, is essential for effective cognitive control during interhemispheric processing shifts.
- Impaired engagement of these control dynamics contributes to suboptimal performance in older adults.
- This study highlights the importance of frontoparietal network communication for cognitive flexibility in aging.
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