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Lanssens A, Desender K, Gillebert CR. Evidence for an age-related decline in feature-based attention. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024; 31:846-868. [PMID: 37860978 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2023.2271583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Feature-based attention allows to efficiently guide attention to relevant information in the visual scene, but unambiguous empirical evidence on age-related effects is still limited. In this study, young and older participants performed a two-alternative forced choice task in which a response was selected based on a task-relevant number (=target) presented alone or with a task-irrelevant letter (=neutral distracter) or number (=compatible/incompatible distracter). Participants were required to select the target based on color. To compare the behavioral interference of the distracters between the age groups, data were modeled with a hierarchical drift-diffusion model. The results revealed that decreases in the rate at which information was collected in the conditions with versus without a distracter were more pronounced in the older than young age group when the distracter was compatible or incompatible. Our findings are consistent with an age-related decline in the ability to filter out distracters based on features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armien Lanssens
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kobe Desender
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Celine R Gillebert
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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2
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Hamilton LJ, Krendl AC. Evidence for the role of affective theory of mind in face-name associative memory. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024; 31:417-437. [PMID: 36999681 PMCID: PMC10544671 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2023.2194607] [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: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
Poor face-name recall has been associated with age-related impairments in cognitive functioning, namely declines in episodic memory and executive control. However, the role of social cognitive function - the ability to remember, process, and store information about others - has been largely overlooked in this work. Extensive work has shown that social and nonsocial cognitive processes rely on unique, albeit overlapping, mechanisms. In the current study, we explored whether social cognitive functioning - specifically the ability to infer other people's mental states (i.e., theory of mind) - facilitates better face-name learning. To do this, a sample of 289 older and young adults completed a face-name learning paradigm along with standard assessments of episodic memory and executive control alongside two theory of mind measures, one static and one dynamic. In addition to expected age differences, several key effects emerged. Age-related differences in recognition were explained by episodic memory, not social cognition. However, age effects in recall were explained by both episodic memory and social cognition, specifically affective theory of mind in the dynamic task. Altogether, we contend that face-name recall can be supported by social cognitive functioning, namely understanding emotions. While acknowledging the influence of task characteristics (i.e., lures, target ages), we interpret these findings in light of existing accounts of age differences in face-name associative memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J Hamilton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Anne C Krendl
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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3
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Kim D, Yoon Y. The Influence of Consumer Purchases on Purchase-Related Happiness: A Serial Mediation of Commitment and Selective Information Processing. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:bs13050396. [PMID: 37232634 DOI: 10.3390/bs13050396] [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: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In the literature on material and experiential purchases, it has consistently been demonstrated that the relationship between the consumer's purchase type and purchase-related happiness favors experiential purchases. This research aims to extend the literature by examining how experiential purchases lead to greater purchase-related happiness due to the individual's processing of external information, especially in the online review context. An experiment was conducted to show that experiential purchases lead to greater commitment to decisions and a higher relative reliance on positive reviews (as opposed to negative reviews) than material purchases. The results of a serial mediation test indicate that such differences lead to greater purchase-related happiness. Based on these findings, we can deepen our understanding of the relationship between purchase type and purchase-related happiness from the perspective of information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongyoup Kim
- College of Business, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeosun Yoon
- KAIST College of Business, Seoul 02455, Republic of Korea
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4
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Effects of aging on face processing: An ERP study of the own-age bias with neutral and emotional faces. Cortex 2023; 161:13-25. [PMID: 36878097 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.01.007] [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: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
Abstract
Older adults systematically show an enhanced N170 amplitude during the visualization of facial expressions of emotion. The present study aimed to replicate this finding, further investigating if this effect is specific to facial stimuli, present in other neural correlates of face processing, and modulated by own-age faces. To this purpose, younger (n = 25; Mage = 28.36), middle-aged (n = 23; Mage = 48.74), and older adults (n = 25; Mage = 67.36) performed two face/emotion identification tasks during an EEG recording. The results showed that groups did not differ regarding P100 amplitude, but older adults had increased N170 amplitude for both facial and non-facial stimuli. The event-related potentials analysed were not modulated by an own-age bias, but older faces elicited larger N170 in the Emotion Identification Task for all groups. This increased amplitude may reflect a higher ambiguity of older faces due to age-related changes in their physical features, which may elicit higher neural resources to decode. Regarding P250, older faces elicited decreased amplitudes than younger faces, which may reflect a reduced processing of the emotional content of older faces. This interpretation is consistent with the lower accuracy obtained for this category of stimuli across groups. These results have important social implications and suggest that aging may hamper the neural processing of facial expressions of emotion, especially for own-age peers.
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5
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Wynn SC, Nyhus E, Jensen O. Alpha modulation in younger and older adults during distracted encoding. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:3451-3464. [PMID: 33325077 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
To successfully encode information into long-term memory, we need top-down control to focus our attention on target stimuli. This attentional focus is achieved by the modulation of sensory neuronal excitability through alpha power. Failure to modulate alpha power and to inhibit distracting information has been reported in older adults during attention and working memory tasks. Given that alpha power during encoding can predict subsequent memory performance, aberrant oscillatory modulations might play a role in age-related memory deficits. However, it is unknown whether there are age-related differences in memory performance or alpha modulation when encoding targets with distraction. Here we show that both older and younger adults are able to encode targets paired with distractors and that the level of alpha power modulation during encoding predicted recognition success. Even though older adults showed signs of higher distractibility, this did not harm their episodic memory for target information. Also, we demonstrate that older adults only modulated alpha power during high distraction, both by enhancing target processing and inhibiting distractor processing. These results indicate that both younger and older adults are able to employ the same inhibitory control mechanisms successfully, but that older adults fail to call upon these when distraction is minimal. The findings of this study give us more insight into the mechanisms involved in memory encoding across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syanah C Wynn
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA
| | - Erika Nyhus
- Department of Psychology, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA
| | - Ole Jensen
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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6
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Treatment effects on event-related EEG potentials and oscillations in Alzheimer's disease. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 177:179-201. [PMID: 35588964 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) is the most diffuse neurodegenerative disorder belonging to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in old persons. This disease is provoked by an abnormal accumulation of amyloid-beta and tauopathy proteins in the brain. Very recently, the first disease-modifying drug has been licensed with reserve (i.e., Aducanumab). Therefore, there is a need to identify and use biomarkers probing the neurophysiological underpinnings of human cognitive functions to test the clinical efficacy of that drug. In this regard, event-related electroencephalographic potentials (ERPs) and oscillations (EROs) are promising candidates. Here, an Expert Panel from the Electrophysiology Professional Interest Area of the Alzheimer's Association and Global Brain Consortium reviewed the field literature on the effects of the most used symptomatic drug against ADD (i.e., Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors) on ERPs and EROs in ADD patients with MCI and dementia at the group level. The most convincing results were found in ADD patients. In those patients, Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors partially normalized ERP P300 peak latency and amplitude in oddball paradigms using visual stimuli. In these same paradigms, those drugs partially normalize ERO phase-locking at the theta band (4-7 Hz) and spectral coherence between electrode pairs at the gamma (around 40 Hz) band. These results are of great interest and may motivate multicentric, double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled clinical trials in MCI and ADD patients for final cross-validation.
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7
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Güntekin B, Aktürk T, Arakaki X, Bonanni L, Del Percio C, Edelmayer R, Farina F, Ferri R, Hanoğlu L, Kumar S, Lizio R, Lopez S, Murphy B, Noce G, Randall F, Sack AT, Stocchi F, Yener G, Yıldırım E, Babiloni C. Are there consistent abnormalities in event-related EEG oscillations in patients with Alzheimer's disease compared to other diseases belonging to dementia? Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e13934. [PMID: 34460957 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Cerebrospinal and structural-molecular neuroimaging in-vivo biomarkers are recommended for diagnostic purposes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias; however, they do not explain the effects of AD neuropathology on neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning cognitive processes. Here, an Expert Panel from the Electrophysiology Professional Interest Area of the Alzheimer's Association reviewed the field literature and reached consensus on the event-related electroencephalographic oscillations (EROs) that show consistent abnormalities in patients with significant cognitive deficits due to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's (PD), Lewy body (LBD), and cerebrovascular diseases. Converging evidence from oddball paradigms showed that, as compared to cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults, AD patients had lower amplitude in widespread delta (>4 Hz) and theta (4-7 Hz) phase-locked EROs as a function of disease severity. Similar effects were also observed in PD, LBD, and/or cerebrovascular cognitive impairment patients. Non-phase-locked alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) oscillations were abnormally reduced (event-related desynchronization, ERD) in AD patients relative to CU. However, studies on patients with other dementias remain lacking. Delta and theta phase-locked EROs during oddball tasks may be useful neurophysiological biomarkers of cognitive systems at work in heuristic and intervention clinical trials performed in AD patients, but more research is needed regarding their potential role for other dementias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahar Güntekin
- Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER), Clinical Electrophysiology, Neuroimaging and Neuromodulation Lab, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Tuba Aktürk
- Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER), Clinical Electrophysiology, Neuroimaging and Neuromodulation Lab, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Vocational School, Program of Electroneurophysiology, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | | | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences and CESI, University G d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Claudio Del Percio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "Vittorio Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Farina
- School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Lütfü Hanoğlu
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sanjeev Kumar
- Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Susanna Lopez
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "Vittorio Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Fiona Randall
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alexander T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Fabrizio Stocchi
- Institute for Research and Medical Care, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, Italy
| | - Görsev Yener
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Ebru Yıldırım
- Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER), Clinical Electrophysiology, Neuroimaging and Neuromodulation Lab, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Vocational School, Program of Electroneurophysiology, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Claudio Babiloni
- Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Institute for Research and Medical Care, Hospital San Raffaele of Cassino, Cassino, Italy
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Riedel D, Fellerhoff T, Mierau A, Strüder H, Wolf D, Fischer F, Fellgiebel A, Tüscher O, Kollmann B, Knaepen K. The impact of aging on interhemispheric transfer time and respective sex differences. AGING BRAIN 2022; 2:100040. [PMID: 36908886 PMCID: PMC9997169 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2022.100040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-related cognitive decline has been attributed to degeneration of the corpus callosum (CC), which allows for interhemispheric integration and information processing [22,69]. Along with decreased structural integrity, altered functional properties of the CC may cause impaired cognitive performance in older adults, yet this aspect of age-related decline remains insufficiently researched [59]. In this context, potential sex-related differences have been proposed [31,58]. A promising parameter, which has been suggested to estimate functional properties of the CC is the interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT), which is ideally obtained from event-related potentials (ERP) evoked by lateralized stimuli [45]. To examine the possible functional consequences of aging with regards to the CC, the present study investigated the IHTT of 107 older (67.69 ± 5.18y) as well as of 23 younger participants (25.09 ± 2.59y). IHTT was obtained using an established letter matching task and targeting early N170 ERP components at posterior electrode sites. The results revealed significantly elongated IHTT in older compared to younger participants, but no significant sex differences. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between IHTT and age, predominantly driven by the female participants. The present findings add support to the notion, that IHTT is subject to age-related elongation reflecting impaired interhemispheric transmission. Age-related decline in women appears to occur at a different age range compared to men.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Riedel
- Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany
| | - Tim Fellerhoff
- Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany
| | - Andreas Mierau
- Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.,Department of Exercise and Sport Science, LUNEX International University of Health, Exercise and Sports, 50, avenue du Parc des Sports L-4671 Differdange, Luxembourg
| | - Heiko Strüder
- Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany
| | - Dominik Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Florian Fischer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Andreas Fellgiebel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany.,Center for Mental Health in Old Age, Landeskrankenhaus (AöR), Hartmühlenweg 2-4, 55122 Mainz, Germany
| | - Oliver Tüscher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany.,Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Wallstraße 7, 55122 Mainz, Germany
| | - Bianca Kollmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany.,Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Wallstraße 7, 55122 Mainz, Germany
| | - Kristel Knaepen
- Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany
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Dahl MJ, Mather M, Werkle-Bergner M. Noradrenergic modulation of rhythmic neural activity shapes selective attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:38-52. [PMID: 34799252 PMCID: PMC8678372 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
During moments involving selective attention, the thalamus orchestrates the preferential processing of prioritized information by coordinating rhythmic neural activity within a distributed frontoparietal network. The timed release of neuromodulators from subcortical structures dynamically sculpts neural synchronization in thalamocortical networks to meet current attentional demands. In particular, noradrenaline modulates the balance of cortical excitation and inhibition, as reflected by thalamocortical alpha synchronization (~8-12 Hz). These neuromodulatory adjustments facilitate the selective processing of prioritized information. Thus, by disrupting effective rhythmic coordination in attention networks, age-related locus coeruleus (LC) degeneration can impair higher levels of neural processing. In sum, findings across different levels of analysis and modalities shed light on how the noradrenergic modulation of neural synchronization helps to shape selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Dahl
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Mara Mather
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Markus Werkle-Bergner
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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10
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Investigation of the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and neurofeedback by continuous performance test. Neurosci Lett 2019; 716:134648. [PMID: 31765731 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation technique based on weak direct current stimulation through the scalp. Neurofeedback (NFB) is a learning strategy that may help alter to brain wave parameters, by monitoring electroencephalography (EEG) feedback via special programs. We aimed to investigate the supportive effects of tDCS in addition to NFB training. 16 healthy volunteers were divided equally into two groups. One of the groups was trained by NFB with the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) protocol; 2 days per week, 10 sessions of 30 min, the other group received 10 min of tDCS before each NFB sessions. Continuous Performance Test (CPT) was used to measure, response time and suppression and to determine selective attention condition. Also, Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories were used to exclude people with depression and anxiety. Depression scores of NFB + tDCS group were decreased significantly. CPT scores were better at last sessions for both groups compared to the first sessions. Sessions were analyzed by comparing 1st, 2nd, 5th and 10th sessions. While the NFB + tDCS group had statistically significant changes at theta/beta ratios with SMR and alpha band amplitudes, NFB group statistics had changed at theta/SMR ratios. NFB training shows its effects at the end of 10 sessions. Despite an increase in the latencies of correct and commission responses on the task of CPT, additional use of tDCS improves cognitive performance. Also, tDCS has a supportive effect on the healthy participants who have mild anxiety and depression; also inhibition deficits of subjects were clear.
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Abstract
Healthy aging is associated with numerous deficits in cognitive function, which have been attributed to changes within the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This chapter summarizes some of the most prominent cognitive changes associated with age-related alterations in the anatomy and physiology of the PFC. Specifically, aging of the PFC results in deficient aspects of cognitive control, including sustained attention, selective attention, inhibitory control, working memory, and multitasking abilities. Yet, not all cognitive functions associated with the PFC exhibit age-related declines, such as arithmetic, comprehension, emotion perception, and emotional control. Moreover, not all older adults exhibit declines in cognition. Multiple life-course and lifestyle factors, as well as genetics, play a role in the trajectory of cognitive performance across the life span. Thus many adults retain cognitive function well into advanced age. Moreover, the brain remains plastic throughout life and there is increasing evidence that most age-related declines in cognition can be remediated by various methods such as physical exercise, cognitive training, or noninvasive brain stimulation. Overall, because cognitive aging is associated with numerous life-course and lifestyle factors, successful aging likely begins in early life, while maintaining cognition or remediating declines is a life-long process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodore P Zanto
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; Neuroscape, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Adam Gazzaley
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; Departments of Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; Neuroscape, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
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12
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Chan JSY, Yan JH. Age-Related Changes in Field Dependence-Independence and Implications for Geriatric Rehabilitation: A Review. Percept Mot Skills 2018; 125:234-250. [PMID: 29388513 DOI: 10.1177/0031512518754422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Human aging is a dynamic life-long process and an inevitable experience. As the average age of the world's population rises, demands for effective geriatric rehabilitation dramatically increase. An important consideration for enhancing geriatric behavioral interventions is to better understand aging characteristics in perceptual, cognitive, and motor performances. A general shift in cognitive style from field independence to field dependence has been consistently observed during human aging, as older adults show a greater tendency to rely on environmental information, presumably reflecting a neuro-compensatory mechanism of reducing top-down control and relying instead on bottom-up processing. These changes in cognitive style can impact motor skill learning and relearning and, consequently, affect geriatric rehabilitation and behavioral treatments. In this article, we review research related to the cognitive style of field dependence and independence, and its dynamic associations with aging. We also identify implications of cognitive style for geriatric rehabilitation and explore future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Y Chan
- 1 Laboratory of Neuromotor Control and Learning, 47890 Shenzhen University , China
| | - Jin H Yan
- 1 Laboratory of Neuromotor Control and Learning, 47890 Shenzhen University , China
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13
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Sciberras-Lim ET, Lambert AJ. Attentional Orienting and Dorsal Visual Stream Decline: Review of Behavioral and EEG Studies. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:246. [PMID: 28798685 PMCID: PMC5529339 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Every day we are faced with an overwhelming influx of visual information. Visual attention acts as the filtering mechanism that enables us to focus our limited neural resources, by selectively processing only the most relevant and/or salient aspects of our visual environment. The ability to shift attention to the most behaviorally relevant items enables us to successfully navigate and interact with our surroundings. The dorsal visual stream is important for the rapid and efficient visuospatial orienting of attention. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that the dorsal visual stream may be especially vulnerable to age-related decline, with significant deterioration becoming evident quite early in the aging process. Yet, despite the significant age-related declines to the dorsal visual stream, the visuospatial orienting of attention appears relatively well preserved in older adults, at least in the early stages of aging. The maintenance of visuospatial orienting of attention in older adults appears to be facilitated by the engagement of compensatory neural mechanisms. In particular, older adults demonstrate heightened activity in the frontal regions to compensate for the reduced activity in the posterior sensory regions. These findings suggest that older adults are more reliant on control processes mediated by the anterior regions of the frontoparietal attention network to compensate for less efficient sensory processing within the posterior sensory cortices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anthony J Lambert
- Department of Psychology, University of AucklandAuckland, New Zealand
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14
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Houston JR, Bennett IJ, Allen PA, Madden DJ. Visual Acuity does not Moderate Effect Sizes of Higher-Level Cognitive Tasks. Exp Aging Res 2017; 42:221-63. [PMID: 27070044 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2016.1156964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT Declining visual capacities in older adults have been posited as a driving force behind adult age differences in higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., the "common cause" hypothesis of Lindenberger & Baltes, 1994, Psychology and Aging, 9, 339-355). McGowan, Patterson, and Jordan (2013, Experimental Aging Research, 39, 70-79) also found that a surprisingly large number of published cognitive aging studies failed to include adequate measures of visual acuity. However, a recent meta-analysis of three studies (La Fleur and Salthouse, 2014, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21, 1202-1208) failed to find evidence that visual acuity moderated or mediated age differences in higher-level cognitive processes. In order to provide a more extensive test of whether visual acuity moderates age differences in higher-level cognitive processes, we conducted a more extensive meta-analysis of topic. METHODS Using results from 456 studies, we calculated effect sizes for the main effect of age across four cognitive domains (attention, executive function, memory, and perception/language) separately for five levels of visual acuity criteria (no criteria, undisclosed criteria, self-reported acuity, 20/80-20/31, and 20/30 or better). RESULTS As expected, age had a significant effect on each cognitive domain. However, these age effects did not further differ as a function of visual acuity criteria. CONCLUSION The current meta-analytic, cross-sectional results suggest that visual acuity is not significantly related to age group differences in higher-level cognitive performance-thereby replicating La Fleur and Salthouse (2014). Further efforts are needed to determine whether other measures of visual functioning (e.g., contrast sensitivity, luminance) affect age differences in cognitive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Houston
- a Department of Psychology , The University of Akron , Akron , Ohio , USA
| | - Ilana J Bennett
- b Department of Neurobiology and Behavior , University of California , Irvine , Irvine California , USA
| | - Philip A Allen
- a Department of Psychology , The University of Akron , Akron , Ohio , USA
| | - David J Madden
- c Brain Imaging and Analysis Center , Duke University Medical Center , Durham , North Carolina , USA
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Tugin S, Hernandez-Pavon JC, Ilmoniemi RJ, Nikulin VV. Visual deviant stimuli produce mismatch responses in the amplitude dynamics of neuronal oscillations. Neuroimage 2016; 142:645-655. [PMID: 27431760 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Auditory and visual deviant stimuli evoke mismatch negativity (MMN) responses, which can be recorded with electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). However, little is known about the role of neuronal oscillations in encoding of rare stimuli. We aimed at verifying the existence of a mechanism for the detection of deviant visual stimuli on the basis of oscillatory responses, so-called visual mismatch oscillatory response (vMOR). METHODS Peripheral visual stimuli in an oddball paradigm, standard vs. deviant (7:1), were presented to twenty healthy subjects. The oscillatory responses to an infrequent change in the direction of moving peripheral stimuli were recorded with a 60-channel EEG system. In order to enhance the detection of oscillatory responses, we used the common spatial pattern (CSP) algorithm, designed for the optimal extraction of changes in the amplitude of oscillations. RESULTS Both standard and deviant visual stimuli produced Event-Related Desynchronization (ERD) and Synchronization (ERS) primarily in the occipito-parietal cortical areas. ERD and ERS had overlapping time-courses and peaked at about 500-730 ms. These oscillatory responses, however, were significantly stronger for the deviant than for the standard stimuli. A difference between the oscillatory responses to deviant and standard stimuli thus reflects the presence of vMOR. CONCLUSIONS The present study shows that the detection of visual deviant stimuli can be reflected in both synchronization and desynchronization of neuronal oscillations. This broadens our knowledge about the brain mechanisms encoding deviant sensory stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergei Tugin
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering (NBE), Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Julio C Hernandez-Pavon
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering (NBE), Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Risto J Ilmoniemi
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering (NBE), Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vadim V Nikulin
- Center for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russian Federation; Neurophysics Group, Department of Neurology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité, University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
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Mok RM, Myers NE, Wallis G, Nobre AC. Behavioral and Neural Markers of Flexible Attention over Working Memory in Aging. Cereb Cortex 2016; 26:1831-42. [PMID: 26865653 PMCID: PMC4785959 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) declines as we age and, because of its fundamental role in higher order cognition, this can have highly deleterious effects in daily life. We investigated whether older individuals benefit from flexible orienting of attention within WM to mitigate cognitive decline. We measured magnetoencephalography (MEG) in older adults performing a WM precision task with cues during the maintenance period that retroactively predicted the location of the relevant items for performance (retro-cues). WM performance of older adults significantly benefitted from retro-cues. Whereas WM maintenance declined with age, retro-cues conferred strong attentional benefits. A model-based analysis revealed an increase in the probability of recalling the target, a lowered probability of retrieving incorrect items or guessing, and an improvement in memory precision. MEG recordings showed that retro-cues induced a transient lateralization of alpha (8-14 Hz) and beta (15-30 Hz) oscillatory power. Interestingly, shorter durations of alpha/beta lateralization following retro-cues predicted larger cueing benefits, reinforcing recent ideas about the dynamic nature of access to WM representations. Our results suggest that older adults retain flexible control over WM, but individual differences in control correspond to differences in neural dynamics, possibly reflecting the degree of preservation of control in healthy aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Mok
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Nicholas E Myers
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
| | - George Wallis
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Anna Christina Nobre
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
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Verneau M, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJP, de Looze MP. Age and time effects on implicit and explicit learning. Exp Aging Res 2015; 40:477-511. [PMID: 25054644 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2014.926778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: It has been proposed that effects of aging are more pronounced for explicit than for implicit motor learning. The authors evaluated this claim by comparing the efficacy of explicit and implicit learning of a movement sequence in young and older adults, and by testing the resilience against fatigue and secondary tasking after learning. It was also examined whether explicit learning in older adults can be promoted by alleviating time constraints during learning. METHODS The alternating serial reaction time task (ASRTT) was used. Experiment 1 compared the benefits of receiving full instructions about the stimulus sequence relative to receiving no instructions in young (20-25 years) and older (50-65 years) adults during retention and during transfer to fatigue and secondary task conditions. Experiment 2 alleviated time constraints during the initial bouts of practice with full instructions. RESULTS Experiment 1 indicated that the older adults learned on the ASRTT and achieved similar performance as young adults when no instructions were given. In contrast to the young adults, learning was not superior in older adults who received full instructions compared with those who did not. Experiment 2 indicated that alleviating time constraints allowed some of the older adults to gain from instruction but only under relatively low time constraints, but there was no retention with rigorous time constraints. CONCLUSION Explicit learning, but not implicit learning, declines in older adults. This is partly due to older adults difficulties to apply explicit knowledge. Less rigorous time constraints can help to ameliorate some of these difficulties and may induce levels of explicit learning in older adults that will result in superior performance compared with implicit learning. Implicit learning did occur under time constraints that prevented explicit learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Verneau
- a Research Institute Move, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences , VU University Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
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18
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Gajewski PD, Falkenstein M. Age-Related Effects on ERP and Oscillatory EEG-Dynamics in a 2-Back Task. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
It is well known that working memory is one of the most vulnerable cognitive functions in elderly. However, little is known about the neuronal underpinnings and temporal dynamics of working memory mechanisms in healthy aging which are necessary to understand the age-related changes. To this end, 36 young and 36 old healthy individuals performed a 2-back task and a 0-back control task, while the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Participants were instructed to press a response key whenever a target appeared and not to respond in case of nontargets. Expectedly, older participants showed considerably slower RTs and significantly higher rates of omitted targets and false alarms than young participants in the 2-back task, whereas no age-group difference in detection rate was found in the 0-back task. From the EEG event-related potentials as well as time-frequency plots were computed. The ERPs showed a general delay of the frontocentral N2, and an attenuation and delay of both the P3a and P3b in older versus younger adults. Importantly, the frontal P3a was reduced in older adults in the 2-back task. Time-frequency decomposition revealed consistently lower power in frontal theta (6 Hz) and parietal alpha (9–11 Hz) frequency range in older versus younger adults whereas no age-related differences were found in the delta frequency range. Task unspecific reduction of posterior alpha in elderly was paralleled by a reduction of the P3b. In contrast, the older adults had a strongly reduced frontal theta power in the 2-back task, which parallels the P3a reduction in the ERPs. The widespread reduction of alpha may indicate that older adults needed to recruit more attentional resources for successful task performance, whereas reduced frontal theta may indicate that older adults are less able to recruit frontal resources related to top-down control with increasing task demands. This suggests a less efficient fronto-parietal network synchronicity in older individuals that leads to deficits in identification and maintenance of task relevant stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick D. Gajewski
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Michael Falkenstein
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
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Daffner KR, Alperin BR, Mott KK, Holcomb PJ. Age-related differences in the automatic processing of single letters: implications for selective attention. Neuroreport 2014; 25:77-82. [PMID: 24162742 PMCID: PMC3907075 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000000027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Older adults exhibit diminished ability to inhibit the processing of visual stimuli that are supposed to be ignored. The extent to which age-related changes in early visual processing contribute to impairments in selective attention remains to be determined. Here, 103 adults, 18-85 years of age, completed a color selective attention task in which they were asked to attend to a specified color and respond to designated target letters. An optimal approach would be to initially filter according to color and then process letter forms in the attend color to identify targets. An asymmetric N170 ERP component (larger amplitude over left posterior hemisphere sites) was used as a marker of the early automatic processing of letter forms. Young and middle-aged adults did not generate an asymmetric N170 component. In contrast, young-old and old-old adults produced a larger N170 over the left hemisphere. Furthermore, older adults generated a larger N170 to letter than nonletter stimuli over the left, but not right hemisphere. More asymmetric N170 responses predicted greater allocation of late selection resources to target letters in the ignore color, as indexed by P3b amplitude. These results suggest that unlike their younger counterparts, older adults automatically process stimuli as letters early in the selection process, when it would be more efficient to attend to color only. The inability to ignore letters early in the processing stream helps explain the age-related increase in subsequent processing of target letter forms presented in the ignore color.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirk R Daffner
- aCenter for Brain/Mind Medicine, Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston bDepartment of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
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Deiber MP, Ibañez V, Missonnier P, Rodriguez C, Giannakopoulos P. Age-associated modulations of cerebral oscillatory patterns related to attention control. Neuroimage 2013; 82:531-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Revised: 06/06/2013] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
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Jomori I, Hoshiyama M, Uemura JI, Nakagawa Y, Hoshino A, Iwamoto Y. Effects of emotional music on visual processes in inferior temporal area. Cogn Neurosci 2013; 4:21-30. [DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2012.751366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Sander MC, Lindenberger U, Werkle-Bergner M. Lifespan age differences in working memory: a two-component framework. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2012; 36:2007-33. [PMID: 22771333 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2011] [Revised: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 06/12/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
We suggest that working memory (WM) performance can be conceptualized as the interplay of low-level feature binding processes and top-down control, relating to posterior and frontal brain regions and their interaction in a distributed neural network. We propose that due to age-differential trajectories of posterior and frontal brain regions top-down control processes are not fully mature until young adulthood and show marked decline with advancing age, whereas binding processes are relatively mature in children, but show senescent decline in older adults. A review of the literature spanning from middle childhood to old age shows that binding and top-down control processes undergo profound changes across the lifespan. We illustrate commonalities and dissimilarities between children, younger adults, and older adults reflecting the change in the two components' relative contribution to visual WM performance across the lifespan using results from our own lab. We conclude that an integrated account of visual WM lifespan changes combining research from behavioral neuroscience and cognitive psychology of child development as well as aging research opens avenues to advance our understanding of cognition in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myriam C Sander
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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