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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
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Resting-State Connectivity and Neuroimaging of Prefrontal Cortex Activity During a Block-Design Yoga Asana Practice Using fNIRS
Published on: June 24, 2025
900
Increased Prefrontal Activity with Aging Reflects Nonspecific Neural Responses Rather than Compensation
Alexa M Morcom1, Richard N A Henson2,3
1Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom, alexa.morcom@ed.ac.uk.
Summary
Older adults show increased prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, but this does not aid memory. This suggests reduced brain efficiency, not compensation, in aging, impacting cognitive function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Aging
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Healthy older adults often exhibit heightened prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity.
- This elevated activity is debated: compensation for posterior decline vs. reduced efficiency due to aging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether increased PFC activity in older adults compensates for cognitive decline or reflects reduced efficiency.
- To differentiate between compensatory and inefficiency models of aging brain function.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a novel model-based multivariate analysis on two independent fMRI datasets (N=123, N=115).
- Examined how brain activity in different regions relates to long- and short-term memory performance across the adult lifespan.
Main Results:
- Replicated age-related increases in average PFC activation.
- Multivariate analysis revealed that increased PFC activity in older adults carried less information about memory outcomes.
- Activity in visual regions, not PFC, was more informative for memory.
Conclusions:
- Findings contradict the compensatory posterior-to-anterior shift hypothesis.
- Suggests elevated PFC activity in aging reflects reduced efficiency or specificity, not compensation.
- Highlights the importance of brain maintenance over compensation for optimal cognitive function in aging.
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