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When Age Tips the Balance: a Dual Mechanism Affecting Hemispheric Specialization for Language
Elise Roger1,2,3, Loïc Labache4, Noah Hamlin5,6
1Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Communication and Aging Lab, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|December 18, 2023
Summary
Brain hemisphere specialization in language networks shifts with age, particularly after 50. These changes in functional brain asymmetry correlate with reduced language production abilities in aging adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Aging
- Brain Plasticity
Background:
- Aging typically reduces brain functional specificity.
- Understanding hemispheric specialization in language networks during aging is crucial.
Approach:
- Modeled inter-hemispheric asymmetry in 37 language network regions (Language-and-Memory Network) across 728 healthy adults (18-88 years).
- Analyzed age-related trajectories of functional specialization and asymmetry.
Key Points:
- Over two-thirds of Language-and-Memory Network regions showed age-related asymmetry changes.
- Two patterns emerged: left-to-right and right-to-left asymmetry shifts.
- Reversed asymmetry shifts after age 50 were linked to poorer language production.
Conclusions:
- Functional brain asymmetries within language networks dynamically change across adulthood.
- Midlife shifts in hemispheric dominance impact language performance.
- These findings highlight brain plasticity during typical aging.
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