Plasticity in brain activity dynamics after task-shifting training in older adults

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Aging Research

Background:

• Cognitive control relies on dynamic interactions between transient and sustained brain activation.
• Older adults exhibit impaired functional recruitment in cognitive control networks.
• Cognitive training may help older adults by redistributing brain activation, but temporal aspects are understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate training-related functional plasticity in older adults using a spatio-temporal fMRI approach.
• To examine how task-shifting training impacts brain activation dynamics in aging.
• To compare neural changes in trained older adults with control groups and younger adults.

Main Methods:

• A hybrid fMRI design was used to track spatio-temporal brain activation changes.
• Fifty healthy seniors were divided into task-shifting training and active-control groups.
• Performance and activation maps were assessed pre- and post-training, compared with 25 younger adults.

Main Results:

• Older adults who underwent task-shifting training achieved performance levels comparable to younger adults.
• Training induced proactive changes in prefrontal circuitry for task-set maintenance and reactive changes in fronto-parietal networks for response selection.
• Task-shifting training led to reduced sustained activation in striatal circuits compared to the control group.

Conclusions:

• Task-shifting training promotes significant functional plasticity in older adults, improving cognitive control.
• Spatio-temporal dynamics of brain activation are crucial for understanding training-induced neural changes in aging.
• The findings underscore the potential of targeted cognitive training to mitigate age-related cognitive decline.