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Performance level modulates adult age differences in brain activation during spatial working memory.
- Source :
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 2009 Dec 29; Vol. 106 (52), pp. 22552-7. Date of Electronic Publication: 2009 Dec 14. - Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- Working memory (WM) shows pronounced age-related decline. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed age differences in task-related brain activation. Evidence based primarily on episodic memory studies suggests that brain activation patterns can be modulated by task difficulty in both younger and older adults. In most fMRI aging studies on WM, however, performance level has not been considered, so that age differences in activation patterns are confounded with age differences in performance level. Here, we address this issue by comparing younger and older low and high performers in an event-related fMRI study. Thirty younger (20-30 years) and 30 older (60-70 years) healthy adults were tested with a spatial WM task with three load levels. A region-of-interest analysis revealed marked differences in the activation patterns between high and low performers in both age groups. Critically, among the older adults, a more "youth-like" load-dependent modulation of the blood oxygen level-dependent signal was associated with higher levels of spatial WM performance. These findings underscore the need of taking performance level into account when studying changes in functional brain activation patterns from early to late adulthood.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Aged
Brain anatomy & histology
Female
Frontal Lobe anatomy & histology
Frontal Lobe physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Cortex anatomy & histology
Motor Cortex physiology
Nerve Net anatomy & histology
Nerve Net physiology
Parietal Lobe anatomy & histology
Parietal Lobe physiology
Task Performance and Analysis
Young Adult
Aging physiology
Aging psychology
Brain physiology
Memory physiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1091-6490
- Volume :
- 106
- Issue :
- 52
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20018709
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0908238106