Cooperation and competition between the default mode network and frontal parietal network in the elderly

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Aging Research

Background:

• The Default Mode Network (DMN) is active during rest and social cognition, deactivating during working memory (WM) tasks.
• The Frontal Parietal Network (FPN) is crucial for executive functions, including WM.
• Previous work indicated age-related decreases in DMN functional connectivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between age-related cognitive decline and the functional connectivity between the FPN and DMN during a WM task.
• To examine age differences in DMN and FPN activity and their inter-network connectivity during WM task preparation and execution.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity in young and older adults during a WM task.
• Analysis focused on brain activation patterns and functional connectivity within and between the FPN and DMN during task preparation and execution phases.

Main Results:

• Older adults exhibited reduced DMN activity during preparation and execution, alongside higher FPN activation during execution compared to young adults.
• Functional connectivity analyses revealed weaker within-network correlations (FPN and DMN) and between-network correlations (FPN-DMN) in older adults.
• Specifically, weaker positive correlations were observed during preparation and weaker negative correlations during execution in the elderly group.

Conclusions:

• Age-related cognitive decline may be associated with reduced functional connectivity within the DMN.
• Diminished connectivity between the FPN and DMN in older adults could underlie cognitive impairments in WM tasks.
• These findings highlight the importance of inter-network communication for maintaining cognitive function during aging.