1
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Kolev V, Falkenstein M, Yordanova J. A distributed theta network of error generation and processing in aging. Cogn Neurodyn 2024; 18:447-459. [PMID: 38699606 PMCID: PMC11061062 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-023-10018-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Based on previous concepts that a distributed theta network with a central "hub" in the medial frontal cortex is critically involved in movement regulation, monitoring, and control, the present study explored the involvement of this network in error processing with advancing age in humans. For that aim, the oscillatory neurodynamics of motor theta oscillations was analyzed at multiple cortical regions during correct and error responses in a sample of older adults. Response-related potentials (RRPs) of correct and incorrect reactions were recorded in a four-choice reaction task. RRPs were decomposed in the time-frequency domain to extract oscillatory theta activity. Motor theta oscillations at extended motor regions were analyzed with respect to power, temporal synchronization, and functional connectivity. Major results demonstrated that errors had pronounced effects on motor theta oscillations at cortical regions beyond the medial frontal cortex by being associated with (1) theta power increase in the hemisphere contra-lateral to the movement, (2) suppressed spatial and temporal synchronization at pre-motor areas contra-lateral to the responding hand, (2) inhibited connections between the medial frontal cortex and sensorimotor areas, and (3) suppressed connectivity and temporal phase-synchronization of motor theta networks in the posterior left hemisphere, irrespective of the hand, left, or right, with which the error was made. The distributed effects of errors on motor theta oscillations demonstrate that theta networks support performance monitoring. The reorganization of these networks with aging implies that in older individuals, performance monitoring is associated with a disengagement of the medial frontal region and difficulties in controlling the focus of motor attention and response selection. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-023-10018-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasil Kolev
- Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl. 23, Sofia, 1113 Bulgaria
| | | | - Juliana Yordanova
- Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl. 23, Sofia, 1113 Bulgaria
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2
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Getzmann S, Reiser JE, Gajewski PD, Schneider D, Karthaus M, Wascher E. Cognitive aging at work and in daily life-a narrative review on challenges due to age-related changes in central cognitive functions. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1232344. [PMID: 37621929 PMCID: PMC10445145 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Demographic change is leading to an increasing proportion of older employees in the labor market. At the same time, work activities are becoming more and more complex and require a high degree of flexibility, adaptability, and cognitive performance. Cognitive control mechanism, which is subject to age-related changes and is important in numerous everyday and work activities, plays a special role. Executive functions with its core functions updating, shifting, and inhibition comprises cognitive control mechanisms that serve to plan, coordinate, and achieve higher-level goals especially in inexperienced and conflicting actions. In this review, influences of age-related changes in cognitive control are demonstrated with reference to work and real-life activities, in which the selection of an information or response in the presence of competing but task-irrelevant stimuli or responses is particularly required. These activities comprise the understanding of spoken language under difficult listening conditions, dual-task walking, car driving in critical traffic situations, and coping with work interruptions. Mechanisms for compensating age-related limitations in cognitive control and their neurophysiological correlates are discussed with a focus on EEG measures. The examples illustrate how to access influences of age and cognitive control on and in everyday and work activities, focusing on its functional role for the work ability and well-being of older people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Getzmann
- Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors at the Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
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3
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Levinson T, Prettyman G, Savage C, White L, Moore TM, Calkins ME, Ruparel K, Gur RE, Gur RC, Satterthwaite TD, Wolf DH. Activation of Internal Correctness Monitoring Circuitry in Youths With Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:542-550. [PMID: 37019760 PMCID: PMC10164703 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Self-directed performance monitoring is a critical contributor to cognitive performance and general functioning and is impacted by psychiatric symptoms and personality traits, but has been understudied in psychosis-risk states. We have shown that ventral striatum (VS) responds to correctness during cognitive tasks where no explicit feedback is required, and this intrinsic reinforcement response is reduced in schizophrenia. METHODS Here, we examined this phenomenon in youths (n = 796, age range 11-22 years) from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) performing a working memory functional magnetic resonance imaging task. We hypothesized that VS would respond to internal correctness monitoring, while classic salience network regions, such as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insular cortex, would reflect internal error monitoring and that these responses would increase with age. We expected that neurobehavioral measures of performance monitoring would be reduced in youths with subclinical psychosis spectrum features and would correlate with amotivation severity. RESULTS Supporting these hypotheses, we found correct>incorrect activation in VS and incorrect>correct activation in anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insular cortex. Furthermore, VS activation was positively correlated with age, reduced in youths with psychosis spectrum features, and inversely correlated with amotivation. However, these patterns were not significant in anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insular cortex. CONCLUSIONS These findings advance our understanding of the neural underpinnings of performance monitoring and its impairment in adolescents with psychosis spectrum features. Such understanding can facilitate investigation of the developmental trajectory of normative and aberrant performance monitoring; contribute to early identification of youths at elevated risk for poor academic, occupational, or psychiatric outcomes; and provide potential targets for therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess Levinson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
| | - Greer Prettyman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Chloe Savage
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Lauren White
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn-CHOP Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Tyler M Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn-CHOP Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Monica E Calkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn-CHOP Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Kosha Ruparel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Raquel E Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn-CHOP Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn-CHOP Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Theodore D Satterthwaite
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn-CHOP Lifespan Brain Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Daniel H Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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4
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Dubravac M, Meier B. Overshooting cognitive control adjustments in older age: Evidence from conflict- and error-related slowing in the Stroop, Simon, and flanker tasks. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2023; 234:103874. [PMID: 36857883 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Although humans gain considerable knowledge from young to older adulthood, aging is also associated with cognitive deficits. This study investigated age-related changes in dynamic cognitive control adjustments after cognitive conflicts and errors. Specifically, we compared younger and older adults' time courses of two established phenomena - post-conflict slowing and post-error slowing. Both age groups completed modified versions of three widely used cognitive conflict tasks (Stroop, Simon, and flanker task). In these tasks, occasional incongruent information triggered a conflict that had to be resolved accordingly but sometimes elicited errors. We tracked conflict- and error-related slowing across four trials after a correct conflict trial (i.e., post-conflict slowing) and an incorrect conflict trial (i.e., post-error slowing). Post-error slowing was generally stronger than post-conflict slowing. Older adults showed a disproportionally strong slowing on the first post-error trial compared to younger adults. In contrast, on subsequent trials, older adults showed a relatively stronger speed up. This pattern of results was consistent across all three tasks. The greater cross-trial response time changes in older adults suggests a deficit in fine-tuning cognitive control adjustments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Beat Meier
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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5
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Ger E, Roebers CM. The Relationship between Executive Functions, Working Memory, and Intelligence in Kindergarten Children. J Intell 2023; 11:jintelligence11040064. [PMID: 37103249 PMCID: PMC10143737 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11040064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Executive functions (EF), working memory (WM), and intelligence are closely associated, but distinct constructs. What underlies the associations between these constructs, especially in childhood, is not well understood. In this pre-registered study, along with the traditional aggregate accuracy and RT-based measures of EF, we investigated post-error slowing (PES) in EF as a manifestation of metacognitive processes (i.e., monitoring and cognitive control) in relation to WM and intelligence. Thereby, we aimed to elucidate whether these metacognitive processes may be one underlying component to explain the associations between these constructs. We tested kindergarten children (Mage = 6.4 years, SDage = 0.3) in an EF, WM (verbal and visuospatial), and fluid (non-verbal) intelligence task. We found significant associations of mainly the inhibition component of EF with fluid intelligence and verbal WM, and between verbal WM and intelligence. No significant associations emerged between the PES in EF and intelligence or WM. These results suggest that in the kindergarten age, inhibition rather than monitoring and cognitive control might be the underlying component that explains the associations between EF, WM, and intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ebru Ger
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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6
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Nagy B, Czigler I, Csizmadia P, File D, Fáy N, Gaál ZA. Investigating the involvement of cognitive control processes in innovative and adaptive creativity and their age-related changes. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1033508. [PMID: 36816501 PMCID: PMC9932509 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1033508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Based on the two-factor model of creativity, two distinct types of creative problem solving can be differentiated: innovative ("do things differently") and adaptive ("do things better"). Flexible cognitive control is a crucial concept in connection with both general and specific styles of creativity: innovative problem-solving benefits from broader attention and flexible mental set shifting; while adaptive creativity relies on focused attention and persistent goal-oriented processes. We applied an informatively cued task-switching paradigm which is suitable for measuring different cognitive control processes and mechanisms like proactive and reactive control. We hypothesized that adaptive creativity is connected to effective proactive control processes, while innovative creativity is based on reactive task-execution. As we have found no previous evidence how age-related changes in cognitive control affects creative cognition; we also examined the effect of healthy aging on different problem-solving styles in an explorative way. Methods Our participants, 37 younger (18-30 years) and 37 older (60-75 years) adults, were divided into innovative and adaptive creative groups according to the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking's Figural Subtest (Hungarian version). Results Our results showed that among younger adults the adaptively creative group had larger cue-locked CNV component (effective preparatory activity connected to proactive control), while the innovatively creative group had a larger target-locked P3b component (effective target evaluation and categorization in line with reactive control) which supports a functional difference in the two creative styles. By contrast, in older adults innovative problem-solving showed larger mixing costs (less effective maintenance and selection of task sets), and the lack of trial type effect on target-locked N2b (target-induced goal reactivation and less effective conflict resolution); while adaptive problem-solving caused them to make fewer errors (accuracy-oriented behavior). Discussion All in all, innovative and adaptive creativity is based on distinct cognitive control mechanisms in both age-groups, but their processing level is affected by age-related changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boglárka Nagy
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary,Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary,*Correspondence: Boglárka Nagy,
| | - István Czigler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Petra Csizmadia
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary,Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Domonkos File
- Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nóra Fáy
- Independent Researcher, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Anna Gaál
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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7
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Human ageing is associated with more rigid concept spaces. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 30:722-730. [PMID: 36253591 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02197-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Prevalence-induced concept change describes a cognitive mechanism by which someone's definition of a concept shifts as the prevalence of instances of that concept changes. While this phenomenon has been established in young adults, it is unclear how it affects older adults. In this study, we explore how prevalence-induced concept change affects older adults' lower-level, perceptual, and higher-order, ethical judgements. We find that older adults are less sensitive to prevalence-induced concept change than younger adults across both domains. Using computational modeling, we demonstrate that these age-related changes in judgements reflect more cautious and deliberate responding in older adults. Based on these findings, we argue that while overly cautious responding by older adults may be maladaptive in some cognitive domains, in the case of prevalence-induced concept change, it might be protective against biased judgements.
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8
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Dubravac M, Roebers CM, Meier B. Age-related qualitative differences in post-error cognitive control adjustments. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 40:287-305. [PMID: 35040504 PMCID: PMC9306937 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Detecting an error signals the need for increased cognitive control and behavioural adjustments. Considerable development in performance monitoring and cognitive control is evidenced by lower error rates and faster response times in multi-trial executive function tasks with age. Besides these quantitative changes, we were interested in whether qualitative changes in balancing accuracy and speed contribute to developmental progression during elementary school years. We conducted two studies investigating the temporal and developmental trajectories of post-error slowing in three prominent cognitive conflict tasks (Stroop, Simon, and flanker). We instructed children (8-, 10-, and 12-year-old) and adults to respond as fast and as accurately as possible and measured their response times on four trials after correct and incorrect responses to a cognitive conflict. Results revealed that all age groups had longer response times on post-error versus post-correct trials, reflecting post-error slowing. Critically, slowing on the first post-error trial declined with age, suggesting an age-related reduction in the orienting response towards errors. This age effect diminished on subsequent trials, suggesting more fine-tuned cognitive control adjustments with age. Overall, the consistent pattern across tasks suggests an age-related change from a relatively strong orienting response to more balanced cognitive control adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirela Dubravac
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Beat Meier
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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9
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Godard M, Wamain Y, Ott L, Delepoulle S, Kalénine S. How Competition between Action Representations Affects Object Perception during Development. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2022.2025808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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10
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Neurocognitive development of novelty and error monitoring in children and adolescents. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19844. [PMID: 34615914 PMCID: PMC8494897 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99043-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The abilities to monitor one's actions and novel information in the environment are crucial for behavioural and cognitive control. This study investigated the development of error and novelty monitoring and their electrophysiological correlates by using a combined flanker with novelty-oddball task in children (7-12 years) and adolescents (14-18 years). Potential moderating influences of prenatal perturbation of steroid hormones on these performance monitoring processes were explored by comparing individuals who were prenatally exposed and who were not prenatally exposed to synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC). Generally, adolescents performed more accurately and faster than children. However, behavioural adaptations to error or novelty, as reflected in post-error or post-novelty slowing, showed different developmental patterns. Whereas post-novelty slowing could be observed in children and adolescents, error-related slowing was absent in children and was marginally significant in adolescents. Furthermore, the amplitude of error-related negativity was larger in adolescents, whereas the amplitude of novelty-related N2 was larger in children. These age differences suggest that processes involving top-down processing of task-relevant information (for instance, error monitoring) mature later than processes implicating bottom-up processing of salient novel stimuli (for instance, novelty monitoring). Prenatal exposure to sGC did not directly affect performance monitoring but initial findings suggest that it might alter brain-behaviour relation, especially for novelty monitoring.
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11
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Developmental changes in external and internal performance monitoring across middle childhood: An ERP study. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 169:20-33. [PMID: 34509572 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Performance monitoring is critical for learning and behavioral adaption and is supported by both externally and internally sourced information. Cross-sectional studies indicate an increase in internal error processing across childhood, suggesting a potential developmental transition from reliance on external information to reliance on internally developed models. However, little research has examined the association between these constructs longitudinally. Data from 339 children assessed annually from kindergarten to 2nd grade were examined to determine the developmental trajectory of ERP indices of performance monitoring, and whether the association between these indices changes across time. EEG data were recorded during an incentivized Go/No-Go task and ERP component amplitudes were extracted as peak measures at Fz. Despite small increases in magnitude, no significant changes were observed in any of the ERPs. Multi-level regression analyses indicated that in kindergarten a more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) was associated with a more negative error-related negativity (ERN) and a more negative error positivity (Pe). Further, the association between the FRN and Pe changed over time, such that in 2nd grade the FRN and Pe decoupled from one another and were no longer associated. These results suggest that the development of performance monitoring through middle childhood may be a phasic process. More specifically, matured external feedback monitoring processes may first facilitate the development of conscious error recognition, and then the development of internal error monitoring processes. Once internal models of error monitoring are well-established, children may then reduce their utilization of external feedback.
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12
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Dilcher R, Beste C, Takacs A, Bluschke A, Tóth-Fáber E, Kleimaker M, Münchau A, Li SC. Perception-action integration in young age-A cross-sectional EEG study. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 50:100977. [PMID: 34147987 PMCID: PMC8225655 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans differ in their capacity for integrating perceived events and related actions. The "Theory of event coding" (TEC) conceptualizes how stimuli and actions are cognitively bound into a common functional representation (or "code"), known as the "event file". To date, however, the neural processes underlying the development of event file coding mechanisms across age are largely unclear. We investigated age-related neural changes of event file coding from late childhood to early adulthood, using EEG signal decompositions methods. We included a group of healthy participants (n = 91) between 10 and 30 years, performing an event file paradigm. Results of this study revealed age-related effects on event file coding processes both at the behavioural and the neurophysiological level. Performance accuracy data showed that event file unbinding und rebinding processes become more efficient from late childhood to early adulthood. These behavioural effects are reflected by age-related effects in two neurophysiological subprocesses associated with the superior parietal cortex (BA7) as revealed in the analyses using EEG signal decomposition. The first process entails mapping and association processes between stimulus and response; whereas, the second comprises inhibitory control subprocesses subserving the selection of the relevant motor programme amongst competing response options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxane Dilcher
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany.
| | - Adam Takacs
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Annet Bluschke
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Eszter Tóth-Fáber
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | | | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Germany; Centre for Tactile Internet With Human-in-the-Loop, TU Dresden, Germany.
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13
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Does interpersonal emotion regulation ability change with age? HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2021.100847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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14
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Gyurkovics M, Levita L. Dynamic Adjustments of Midfrontal Control Signals in Adults and Adolescents. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:795-808. [PMID: 33026426 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During task performance, our level of cognitive control is dynamically adjusted to task demands as reflected, for example, by the congruency sequence effect (CSE) in conflict tasks. Although brain areas related to cognitive control show protracted maturation across adolescence, previous studies found that adolescents show similar behavioral CSEs to adults. In the present study, we investigated whether there are age-related changes in the neural underpinnings of dynamic control adjustments using electroencephalography. Early adolescents (ages 12-14, N = 30) and young adults (ages 25-27, N = 29) completed a confound-minimized flanker task optimized for the detection of sequential control adjustments. The CSE was observed in midfrontal theta power thought to capture anterior cingulate cortex-mediated monitoring processes but was not modulated significantly by age. Adolescents, however, showed a smaller congruency effect in the power and cross-trial temporal consistency of midfrontal theta oscillations than adults. No age differences were observed in phase-based connectivity between midfrontal and lateral frontal regions in the theta band. These findings provide strong support for the role of midfrontal theta oscillations in conflict monitoring and reactive control and suggest that the cognitive system of early adolescents initially responds less reliably to the occurrence of conflict than that of adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mate Gyurkovics
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Liat Levita
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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15
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Impaired error awareness in healthy older adults: an age group comparison study. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 96:58-67. [PMID: 32949902 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Aging is associated with reduced conscious error detection but the brain regions mediating these changes have yet to be clarified. The present study examined the neural correlates of error awareness in healthy older adults. Sixteen older participants (mean age = 75.5 years) and sixteen younger controls (mean age = 27.9 years) were administered the error awareness task, a go/no-go response inhibition paradigm, in which participants were required to signal commission errors. Compared with young adults, older adults were significantly poorer at consciously detecting performance errors, despite both groups being matched for overall accuracy. This age-related behavioral effect was associated with differences in error-related dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and insula activation, with younger adults showing significant differences between errors made with versus without awareness compared with older adults. By contrast, an age-specific modulation in right inferior parietal lobule activation emerged, with increased right inferior parietal lobule activity occurring in older adults during errors made with awareness compared with younger adults. These findings are consistent with theories of age-related deterioration in error processing mechanisms.
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16
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Denervaud S, Fornari E, Yang XF, Hagmann P, Immordino-Yang MH, Sander D. An fMRI study of error monitoring in Montessori and traditionally-schooled children. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2020; 5:11. [PMID: 32699649 PMCID: PMC7367880 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-020-0069-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The development of error monitoring is central to learning and academic achievement. However, few studies exist on the neural correlates of children's error monitoring, and no studies have examined its susceptibility to educational influences. Pedagogical methods differ on how they teach children to learn from errors. Here, 32 students (aged 8-12 years) from high-quality Swiss traditional or Montessori schools performed a math task with feedback during fMRI. Although the groups' accuracies were similar, Montessori students skipped fewer trials, responded faster and showed more neural activity in right parietal and frontal regions involved in math processing. While traditionally-schooled students showed greater functional connectivity between the ACC, involved in error monitoring, and hippocampus following correct trials, Montessori students showed greater functional connectivity between the ACC and frontal regions following incorrect trials. The findings suggest that pedagogical experience influences the development of error monitoring and its neural correlates, with implications for neurodevelopment and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solange Denervaud
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA), Campus Biotech, University of Geneva, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Connectomics Lab, Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV-UNIL), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV-UNIL), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eleonora Fornari
- Biomedical Imaging Center (CIBM), Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV-UNIL), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Xiao-Fei Yang
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE); Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
| | - Patric Hagmann
- Connectomics Lab, Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV-UNIL), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE); Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA USA
| | - David Sander
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA), Campus Biotech, University of Geneva, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
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17
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Thurm F, Li SC, Hämmerer D. Maturation- and aging-related differences in electrophysiological correlates of error detection and error awareness. Neuropsychologia 2020; 143:107476. [PMID: 32360297 PMCID: PMC7322543 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The error-related negativity (ERN/Ne) as well as the early and late error positivity (Pe) are electrophysiological correlates known to reflect error detection and error awareness. Despite much evidence on age differences in mastering response conflicts, the development and the functional distinctiveness of these components across the lifespan is still unclear. Here we investigated maturation- and aging-related differences in the ERN/Ne, the early and late Pe during a response conflict task in a lifespan sample that included 45 children, 42 adolescents, 39 younger and 34 older adults. Lifespan age differences were characterized by marked declines of all three components in older age, whereas clear maturation effects from childhood to adolescence were only observed for error detection reflected in the ERN/Ne component. Furthermore, using regression analyses, we examined functional relationships of the error monitoring components to behavioral indicators of task performance. Across all age groups, both the ERN/Ne and the early Pe were related to response accuracy, but only the early Pe was further associated with performance in a covariate task indicative of perceptual processing and attention capacities. Our results suggest that the ERN/Ne, the early and late Pe reflect distinct but complementary processes of error monitoring across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franka Thurm
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dorothea Hämmerer
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, London, UK
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18
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Adam N, Blaye A, Gulbinaite R, Delorme A, Farrer C. The role of midfrontal theta oscillations across the development of cognitive control in preschoolers and school‐age children. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12936. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Revised: 12/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Adam
- Centre de recherche Cerveau et Cognition Université de Toulouse Toulouse France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Paris France
| | - Agnès Blaye
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Paris France
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive Université Aix‐Marseille Marseille France
| | - Rasa Gulbinaite
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences Université de Lyon Lyon France
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028 Lyon France
| | - Arnaud Delorme
- Centre de recherche Cerveau et Cognition Université de Toulouse Toulouse France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Paris France
- Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience University of California San Diego CA USA
| | - Chloé Farrer
- Centre de recherche Cerveau et Cognition Université de Toulouse Toulouse France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Paris France
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19
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Disentangling the Effects of Processing Speed on the Association between Age Differences and Fluid Intelligence. J Intell 2019; 8:jintelligence8010001. [PMID: 31881681 PMCID: PMC7151009 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence8010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have demonstrated that individual differences in processing speed fully mediate the association between age and intelligence, whereas the association between processing speed and intelligence cannot be explained by age differences. Because measures of processing speed reflect a plethora of cognitive and motivational processes, it cannot be determined which specific processes give rise to this mediation effect. This makes it hard to decide whether these processes should be conceived of as a cause or an indicator of cognitive aging. In the present study, we addressed this question by using a neurocognitive psychometrics approach to decompose the association between age differences and fluid intelligence. Reanalyzing data from two previously published datasets containing 223 participants between 18 and 61 years, we investigated whether individual differences in diffusion model parameters and in ERP latencies associated with higher-order attentional processing explained the association between age differences and fluid intelligence. We demonstrate that individual differences in the speed of non-decisional processes such as encoding, response preparation, and response execution, and individual differences in latencies of ERP components associated with higher-order cognitive processes explained the negative association between age differences and fluid intelligence. Because both parameters jointly accounted for the association between age differences and fluid intelligence, age-related differences in both parameters may reflect age-related differences in anterior brain regions associated with response planning that are prone to be affected by age-related changes. Conversely, age differences did not account for the association between processing speed and fluid intelligence. Our results suggest that the relationship between age differences and fluid intelligence is multifactorially determined.
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20
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Hämmerer D, Schwartenbeck P, Gallagher M, FitzGerald THB, Düzel E, Dolan RJ. Older adults fail to form stable task representations during model-based reversal inference. Neurobiol Aging 2018; 74:90-100. [PMID: 30439597 PMCID: PMC6338680 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 09/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Older adults struggle in dealing with changeable and uncertain environments across several cognitive domains. This has been attributed to difficulties in forming adequate task representations that help navigate uncertain environments. Here, we investigate how, in older adults, inadequate task representations impact on model-based reversal learning. We combined computational modeling and pupillometry during a novel model-based reversal learning task, which allowed us to isolate the relevance of task representations at feedback evaluation. We find that older adults overestimate the changeability of task states and consequently are less able to converge on unequivocal task representations through learning. Pupillometric measures and behavioral data show that these unreliable task representations in older adults manifest as a reduced ability to focus on feedback that is relevant for updating task representations, and as a reduced metacognitive awareness in the accuracy of their actions. Instead, the data suggested older adults' choice behavior was more consistent with a guidance by uninformative feedback properties such as outcome valence. Our study highlights that an inability to form adequate task representations may be a crucial factor underlying older adults' impaired model-based inference. Older adults overestimate the changeability of task states in uncertain environments. Unreliable task representations impact model updating in older adults. Older adults focus on outcome valence rather than model updating during feedback. Older adults show reduced metacognitive awareness of their decision-making accuracy. Pupil diameter encodes model updating and not surprise in young and older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Hämmerer
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Philipp Schwartenbeck
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Neuroscience Institute, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK; Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Maria Gallagher
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Thomas Henry Benedict FitzGerald
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK; School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK; Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, UK
| | - Emrah Düzel
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Raymond Joseph Dolan
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK; Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, UK
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21
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Ribeiro MJ, Castelo-Branco M. Age-related differences in event-related potentials and pupillary responses in cued reaction time tasks. Neurobiol Aging 2018; 73:177-189. [PMID: 30366291 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in the noradrenergic system are associated with age-related cognitive decline, yet how healthy aging influences the functional properties of this arousal system is still poorly understood. We addressed this question in humans using pupillometry, a well-established indicator of activity levels in the locus coeruleus (LC), the main noradrenergic center in the brain. We recorded the pupillogram and the electroencephalogram of 36 young and 39 older adults, while they were engaged in cued reaction time tasks known to elicit LC responses in monkeys. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed significant group differences. Older adults showed higher cortical activation during preparatory processes reflected in enhanced cue-evoked frontocentral ERPs and reduced parietal ERPs at the time of the motor response. In contrast, the amplitude of the task-related pupillary responses did not show a significant group effect. Our findings suggest that aging-related changes in cortical processing during motor preparation and execution, as documented by electroencephalogram, are not accompanied by changes in the amplitude of activation of the LC, as documented by pupillography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria J Ribeiro
- CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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22
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Giller F, Zhang R, Roessner V, Beste C. The neurophysiological basis of developmental changes during sequential cognitive flexibility between adolescents and adults. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:552-565. [PMID: 30240511 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Revised: 08/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility is a major facet of executive functions and often refers to sequential task control; that is, it is very likely that one may re-encounter a task that has previously been abandoned to carry out a different task. In the context of sequential cognitive flexibility, the "backward inhibition (BI) effect" has been studied quite extensively. Here we ask whether there are age-related differences between adolescents and adults to overcome BI and what system-neurophysiological mechanisms underlie these modulations. This was examined using a system neurophysiological study procedure combining event-related potentials data with source localization and EEG signal decomposition methods. We show that sequential cognitive flexibility, and the ability overcome backward inhibition, is inferior in adolescents compared with adults. Accounting for intra-individual variability in the neurophysiological data, this data suggest that two partly inter-related processes underlie the differences between adolescents than adults to overcome backward inhibition: One process refers to the suppression of the inhibitory effect of the n-1 trial on the n-2 trial during perceptual categorization of incoming information that is associated with right inferior frontal regions. The other process refers to immature response selection and conflict monitoring mechanisms associated with regions in the medial frontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Giller
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dresden, Germany
| | - Rui Zhang
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dresden, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cognitive Neurophysiology, Dresden, Germany
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23
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Gajewski PD, Ferdinand NK, Kray J, Falkenstein M. Understanding sources of adult age differences in task switching: Evidence from behavioral and ERP studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 92:255-275. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.05.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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24
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Ilg L, Klados M, Alexander N, Kirschbaum C, Li SC. Long-term impacts of prenatal synthetic glucocorticoids exposure on functional brain correlates of cognitive monitoring in adolescence. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7715. [PMID: 29769646 PMCID: PMC5955898 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26067-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 04/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The fetus is highly responsive to the level of glucocorticoids in the gestational environment. Perturbing glucocorticoids during fetal development could yield long-term consequences. Extending prior research about effects of prenatally exposed synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) on brain structural development during childhood, we investigated functional brain correlates of cognitive conflict monitoring in term-born adolescents, who were prenatally exposed to sGC. Relative to the comparison group, behavioral response consistency (indexed by lower reaction time variability) and a brain correlate of conflict monitoring (the N2 event-related potential) were reduced in the sGC exposed group. Relatedly, source localization analyses showed that activations in the fronto-parietal network, most notably in the cingulate cortex and precuneus, were also attenuated in these adolescents. These regions are known to subserve conflict detection and response inhibition as well as top-down regulation of stress responses. Moreover, source activation in the anterior cingulate cortex correlated negatively with reaction time variability, whereas activation in the precuneus correlated positively with salivary cortisol reactivity to social stress in the sGC exposed group. Taken together, findings of this study indicate that prenatal exposure to sGC yields lasting impacts on the development of fronto-parietal brain functions during adolescence, affecting multiple facets of adaptive cognitive and behavioral control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liesa Ilg
- Chair for Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Manousos Klados
- Chair for Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01062, Dresden, Germany.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Aston University, MB555 Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B47ET, UK
| | - Nina Alexander
- Chair for Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 19, 01602, Dresden, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Clemens Kirschbaum
- Chair for Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 19, 01602, Dresden, Germany
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair for Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01062, Dresden, Germany.
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25
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Bodmer B, Mückschel M, Roessner V, Beste C. Neurophysiological variability masks differences in functional neuroanatomical networks and their effectiveness to modulate response inhibition between children and adults. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 223:1797-1810. [PMID: 29230561 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1589-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Executive functions are well-known to undergo developmental changes from childhood to adulthood. Considerable efforts have been made to elucidate the affected system neurophysiological mechanisms. But while it is well-known that developmental changes affect intra-individual variability, this potential bias has largely been neglected when investigating the neurophysiology underlying developmental differences between children and adults. We hypothesize that due to differences in intra-individual variability of neural processes between children and adults, reliable group differences will only be evident after accounting for intra-individual variability in neurophysiological processes. We, therefore, investigate response-inhibition processes as an important instance of executive control in children (between 10 and 14 years) and adults (between 20 and 29 years) and decompose EEG data on the basis of the latency and temporal variability. This was combined with source localization. Children showed more impulsive behavior than adults. Importantly, a reliable match between the neurophysiological and behavioral data could only be found when accounting for intra-individual variability in the EEG data. These decomposed data showed that children and adults use similar neurophysiological mechanisms at the response selection level to accomplish inhibitory control, but seem to engage different neuroanatomical structures to do so according to source localization results: In adults, these processes were related to the medial frontal cortex. In children, the same processes were reflected in a shift of the scalp topography and related to the superior parietal cortex. These shifts in neural networks were associated with lower effectiveness in exerting inhibitory control. However, these differences in the functional neuroanatomical architecture can only be seen when intra-individual variability is taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Bodmer
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Schubertstrasse 42, 01309, Dresden, Germany
| | - Moritz Mückschel
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Schubertstrasse 42, 01309, Dresden, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, MS Centre Dresden, Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Schubertstrasse 42, 01309, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Schubertstrasse 42, 01309, Dresden, Germany. .,Experimental Neurobiology, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
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26
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Emotional arousal and recognition memory are differentially reflected in pupil diameter responses during emotional memory for negative events in younger and older adults. Neurobiol Aging 2017; 58:129-139. [PMID: 28734217 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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27
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Gohil K, Bluschke A, Roessner V, Stock A, Beste C. Sensory processes modulate differences in multi-component behavior and cognitive control between childhood and adulthood. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:4933-4945. [PMID: 28660637 PMCID: PMC6867046 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2017] [Revised: 06/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Many everyday tasks require executive functions to achieve a certain goal. Quite often, this requires the integration of information derived from different sensory modalities. Children are less likely to integrate information from different modalities and, at the same time, also do not command fully developed executive functions, as compared to adults. Yet still, the role of developmental age-related effects on multisensory integration processes has not been examined within the context of multicomponent behavior until now (i.e., the concatenation of different executive subprocesses). This is problematic because differences in multisensory integration might actually explain a significant amount of the developmental effects that have traditionally been attributed to changes in executive functioning. In a system, neurophysiological approach combining electroencephaloram (EEG) recordings and source localization analyses, we therefore examined this question. The results show that differences in how children and adults accomplish multicomponent behavior do not solely depend on developmental differences in executive functioning. Instead, the observed developmental differences in response selection processes (reflected by the P3 ERP) were largely dependent on the complexity of integrating temporally separated stimuli from different modalities. This effect was related to activation differences in medial frontal and inferior parietal cortices. Primary perceptual gating or attentional selection processes (P1 and N1 ERPs) were not affected. The results show that differences in multisensory integration explain parts of transformations in cognitive processes between childhood and adulthood that have traditionally been attributed to changes in executive functioning, especially when these require the integration of multiple modalities during response selection. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4933-4945, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krutika Gohil
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryFaculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Cognitive NeurophysiologyGermany
| | - Annet Bluschke
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryFaculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Cognitive NeurophysiologyGermany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryFaculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Cognitive NeurophysiologyGermany
| | - Ann‐Kathrin Stock
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryFaculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Cognitive NeurophysiologyGermany
| | - Christian Beste
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryFaculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Cognitive NeurophysiologyGermany
- Experimental Neurobiology, National Institute of Mental HealthKlecanyCzech Republic
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28
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Houston RJ, Schlienz NJ. Event-Related Potentials as Biomarkers of Behavior Change Mechanisms in Substance Use Disorder Treatment. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2017; 3:30-40. [PMID: 29397076 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are one of the most prevalent psychiatric conditions and represent a significant public health concern. Substantial research has identified key processes related to reinforcement and cognition for the development and maintenance of SUDs, and these processes represent viable treatment targets for psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. Research on SUD treatments has suggested that most approaches are comparable in effectiveness. As a result, recent work has focused on delineating the underlying mechanisms of behavior change that drive SUD treatment outcome. Given the rapid fluctuations associated with the key neurocognitive processes associated with SUDs, high-temporal-resolution measures of human brain processing, namely event-related potentials (ERPs), are uniquely suited to expand our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of change during and after SUD treatment. The value of ERPs in the context of SUD treatment are discussed along with work demonstrating the predictive validity of ERPs as biomarkers of SUD treatment response. Example associations between multiple ERP components and psychosocial and/or pharmacological treatment outcome include the P3a and P3b (in response to neutral and substance-related cues), the attention-related negativities (e.g., N170, N200), the late positive potential, and the error-related negativity. Also addressed are limitations of the biomarker approach to underscore the need for research programs evaluating mechanisms of change. Finally, we emphasize the advantages of ERPs as indices of behavior change in SUD treatment and outline issues relevant for future directions in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Houston
- Health and Addictions Research Center, Department of Psychology, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York.
| | - Nicolas J Schlienz
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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29
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Gajewski PD, Freude G, Falkenstein M. Cognitive Training Sustainably Improves Executive Functioning in Middle-Aged Industry Workers Assessed by Task Switching: A Randomized Controlled ERP Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:81. [PMID: 28275347 PMCID: PMC5319973 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, we reported results of a cross-sectional study investigating executive functions in dependence of aging and type of work. That study showed deficits in performance and electrophysiological activity in middle-aged workers with long-term repetitive and unchallenging work. Based on these findings, we conducted a longitudinal study that aimed at ameliorating these cognitive deficits by means of a trainer-guided cognitive training (CT) in 57 further middle-aged workers with repetitive type of work from the same factory. This study was designed as a randomized controlled trail with pre- (t1), post- (t2), and a 3-month follow-up (t3) measure. The waiting control group was trained between t2 and t3. The training lasted 3 months (20 sessions) and was evaluated with the same task switching paradigm used in the previous cross-sectional study. The CT improved performance in accuracy at the behavioral level and affected the electrophysiological correlates of retrieval of stimulus-response sets (P2), response selection (N2), and error detection (Ne), thus unveiling the neuronal background of the behavioral effects. The same training effects were observed in the waiting control group after CT at t3. Moreover, at t3, most of the behavioral and electrophysiological training-induced changes were found stable. Hence, CT appears to be an important intervention for compensating cognitive deficits in executive functions in middle-aged employees with cognitively unchallenging work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick D Gajewski
- Ageing Research Group, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Technical University of Dortmund Dortmund, Germany
| | - Gabriele Freude
- Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Falkenstein
- Ageing Research Group, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Technical University of DortmundDortmund, Germany; Institute for Working, Learning and AgingBochum, Germany
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30
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Clawson A, Clayson PE, Keith CM, Catron C, Larson MJ. Conflict and performance monitoring throughout the lifespan: An event-related potential (ERP) and temporospatial component analysis. Biol Psychol 2017; 124:87-99. [PMID: 28143802 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Revised: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive control includes higher-level cognitive processes used to evaluate environmental conflict. Given the importance of cognitive control in regulating behavior, understanding the developmental course of these processes may contribute to a greater understanding of normal and abnormal development. We examined behavioral (response times [RTs], error rates) and event-related potential data (N2, error-related negativity [ERN], correct-response negativity [CRN], error positivity [Pe]) during a flanker task in cross-sectional groups of 45 youth (ages 8-18), 52 younger adults (ages 20-28), and 58 older adults (ages 56-91). Younger adults displayed the most efficient processing, including significantly reduced CRN and N2 amplitude, increased Pe amplitude, and significantly better task performance than youth or older adults (e.g., faster RTs, fewer errors). Youth displayed larger CRN and N2, attenuated Pe, and significantly worse task performance than younger adults. Older adults fell either between youth and younger adults (e.g., CRN amplitudes, N2 amplitudes) or displayed neural and behavioral performance that was similar to youth (e.g., Pe amplitudes, error rates). These findings point to underdeveloped neural and cognitive processes early in life and reduced efficiency in older adulthood, contributing to poor implementation and modulation of cognitive control in response to conflict. Thus, cognitive control processing appears to reach peak performance and efficiency in younger adulthood, marked by improved task performance with less neural activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Clawson
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States
| | - Peter E Clayson
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States; Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Cierra M Keith
- Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Christina Catron
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States
| | - Michael J Larson
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States; Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States.
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Gajewski PD, Drizinsky J, Zülch J, Falkenstein M. ERP Correlates of Simulated Purchase Decisions. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:360. [PMID: 27551258 PMCID: PMC4976093 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Decision making in economic context is an everyday activity but its neuronal correlates are poorly understood. The present study aimed at investigating the electrophysiological brain activity during simulated purchase decisions of technical products for a lower or higher price relative to a mean price estimated in a pilot study. Expectedly, participants mostly decided to buy a product when it was cheap and not to buy when it was expensive. However, in some trials they made counter-conformity decisions to buy a product for a higher than the average price or not to buy it despite an attractive price. These responses took more time and the variability of the response latency was enhanced relative to conformity responses. ERPs showed enhanced conflict related fronto-central N2 during both types of counter-conformity compared to conformity decisions. A reverse pattern was found for the P3a and P3b. The response-locked P3 (r-P3) was larger and the subsequent CNV smaller for counter-conformity than conformity decisions. We assume that counter-conformity decisions elevate the response threshold (larger N2), intensify response evaluation (r-P3) and attenuate the preparation for the next trial (CNV). These effects were discussed in the framework of the functional role of the fronto-parietal cortex in economic decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick D Gajewski
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at Technische Universität Dortmund Dortmund, Germany
| | - Jessica Drizinsky
- LdV-C3-Lab, Chair of Industrial Sales Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ruhr University Bochum Bochum, Germany
| | - Joachim Zülch
- LdV-C3-Lab, Chair of Industrial Sales Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ruhr University Bochum Bochum, Germany
| | - Michael Falkenstein
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at Technische Universität DortmundDortmund, Germany; Institute for Working, Learning and AgingBochum, Germany
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Chmielewski WX, Roessner V, Beste C. Predictability and context determine differences in conflict monitoring between adolescence and adulthood. Behav Brain Res 2015; 292:10-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.05.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2015] [Revised: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 05/31/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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33
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Lifelong physical activity and executive functions in older age assessed by memory based task switching. Neuropsychologia 2015; 73:195-207. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.04.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2015] [Revised: 04/28/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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