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Neural attenuation: age-related dedifferentiation in the left occipitotemporal cortex for visual word processing
Licheng Xue1,2, Yating Lv3,4,5, Jing Zhao1,5
1Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318 Yuhangtang Rd, Yuhang District, Hangzhou 311121, China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|January 5, 2023
Summary
Older adults show cognitive decline in visual word processing due to neural attenuation in the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT). This brain region's decreased response to words impacts reading performance.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Cognitive decline in older adults affects visual word processing.
- The left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT) is crucial for visual word recognition.
- Understanding the neural basis of age-related cognitive changes is important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age-related neural mechanisms underlying cognitive decline in visual word processing.
- To examine neural activity in the left vOT in young and old adults during word perception.
- To test the neural attenuation hypothesis of cognitive aging.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity.
- Participants included young and old adults.
- Stimuli consisted of visual words and line drawings.
Main Results:
- Older adults exhibited neural dedifferentiation in the left vOT during visual word processing.
- This dedifferentiation was characterized by neural attenuation (decreased response to words) in older adults compared to young adults.
- Reduced neural response to words correlated with poorer visual word processing performance.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the neural attenuation hypothesis for age-related cognitive decline in visual word processing.
- Neural attenuation in the left vOT contributes to difficulties in reading for older adults.
- This study elucidates the neural underpinnings of cognitive aging in a specific visual processing domain.
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