A-3 Cingulo-Opercular and Frontoparietal Control Network Connectivity and Executive Functioning in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1024-1024
Author(s):  
Hanna K Hausman ◽  
Cheshire Hardcastle ◽  
Alejandro Albizu ◽  
Jessica N Kraft ◽  
Nicole D Evangelista ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Memory Inhibition

Abstract Objective Executive functioning is a cognitive domain that typically declines with normal aging. Age-related disrupted connectivity in cingulo-opercular (CON) and frontoparietal control (FPCN) resting-state networks is associated with worse performance across various executive functioning tasks. This study examines the relationships between CON and FPCN connectivity and executive functioning performance in older adults across three subdomains: working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting. Methods 274 healthy older adults (age M = 71.7, SD = 5.1; 87% Caucasian) from a clinical trial at the University of Florida and University of Arizona completed tasks of working memory (Digit Span Backwards [DSB]; Letter Number Sequencing [LNS]), inhibition (Stroop), and set-shifting (Trail Making Test Part B [TMT-B]). Participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. CONN Toolbox (18b) was used for extracting average within-network connectivity of CON and FPCN. Multiple linear regressions were conducted with average network connectivity predicting performance, controlling for age, sex, education, and scanner. Results Greater average CON connectivity was associated with better performance on DSB (β = 0.26, p < 0.001), LNS (β = 0.23, p < 0.001), Stroop (β = 0.24, p < 0.001), and TMT-B (β = −0.26, p < 0.001). Greater average FPCN connectivity was associated with better performance on DSB (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and LNS (β = 0.18, p = 0.002). Conclusions CON connectivity was significantly associated with working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting. FPCN connectivity was significantly associated with working memory. Future research should conduct regional connectivity analyses within these networks to identify intervention targets to improve executive functioning in older adults.

scholarly journals Spontaneous Eye Blinks Predict Executive Functioning in Seniors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessika I. V. Buitenweg ◽  
Jaap M. J. Murre ◽  
K. Richard Ridderinkhof
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Memory Updating ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Working Memory Updating

AbstractAs the world’s population is aging rapidly, cognitive training is an extensively used approach to attempt improvement of age-related cognitive functioning. With increasing numbers of older adults required to remain in the workforce, it is important to be able to reliably predict future functional decline, as well as the individual advantages of cognitive training. Given the correlation between age-related decline and striatal dopaminergic function, we investigated whether eye blink rate (EBR), a non-invasive, indirect indicator of dopaminergic activity, could predict executive functioning (response inhibition, switching and working memory updating) as well as trainability of executive functioning in older adults. EBR was collected before and after a cognitive flexibility training, cognitive training without flexibility, or a mock training. EBR predicted working memory updating performance on two measures of updating, as well as trainability of working memory updating, whereas performance and trainability in inhibition and switching tasks could not be predicted by EBR. Our findings tentatively indicate that EBR permits prediction of working memory performance in older adults. To fully interpret the relationship with executive functioning, we suggest future research should assess both EBR and dopamine receptor availability among seniors.

scholarly journals Resting‐State EEG Microstates Parallel Age‐Related Differences in Allocentric Spatial Working Memory Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Jabès ◽  
Giuliana Klencklen ◽  
Paolo Ruggeri ◽  
Christoph M. Michel ◽  
Pamela Banta Lavenex ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Age Related

AbstractAlterations of resting-state EEG microstates have been associated with various neurological disorders and behavioral states. Interestingly, age-related differences in EEG microstate organization have also been reported, and it has been suggested that resting-state EEG activity may predict cognitive capacities in healthy individuals across the lifespan. In this exploratory study, we performed a microstate analysis of resting-state brain activity and tested allocentric spatial working memory performance in healthy adult individuals: twenty 25–30-year-olds and twenty-five 64–75-year-olds. We found a lower spatial working memory performance in older adults, as well as age-related differences in the five EEG microstate maps A, B, C, C′ and D, but especially in microstate maps C and C′. These two maps have been linked to neuronal activity in the frontal and parietal brain regions which are associated with working memory and attention, cognitive functions that have been shown to be sensitive to aging. Older adults exhibited lower global explained variance and occurrence of maps C and C′. Moreover, although there was a higher probability to transition from any map towards maps C, C′ and D in young and older adults, this probability was lower in older adults. Finally, although age-related differences in resting-state EEG microstates paralleled differences in allocentric spatial working memory performance, we found no evidence that any individual or combination of resting-state EEG microstate parameter(s) could reliably predict individual spatial working memory performance. Whether the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates may be used to assess healthy cognitive aging from resting-state brain activity requires further investigation.

scholarly journals Older adults benefit from more widespread brain network integration during working memory

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A. Crowell ◽  
S.W. Davis ◽  
L. Beynel ◽  
L. Deng ◽  
D. Lakhlani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Network Integration ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractNeuroimaging evidence suggests that the aging brain relies on a more distributed set of cortical regions than younger adults in order to maintain successful levels of performance during demanding cognitive tasks. However, it remains unclear how task demands give rise to this age-related expansion in cortical networks. To investigate this issue, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure univariate activity, network connectivity, and cognitive performance in younger and older adults during a working memory (WM) task. In the WM task investigated, participants hold letters online (maintenance) while reordering them alphabetically (manipulation). WM load was titrated to obtain four individualized difficulty levels. Network integration—defined as the ratio of within-versus between-network connectivity—was linked to individual differences in WM capacity. The study yielded three main findings. First, as task difficulty increased, network integration decreased in younger adults, whereas it increased in older adults. Second, age-related increases in network integration were driven by increases in right hemispheric connectivity to both left and right cortical regions, a finding that helps to reconcile extant theories of compensatory recruitment in aging to address the multivariate dynamics of global network functioning. Lastly, older adults with higher WM capacity demonstrated higher levels of network integration in the most difficult condition. These results shed light on the mechanisms of age-related network reorganization by suggesting that changes in network connectivity may act as an adaptive form of compensation, with older adults recruiting a more distributed cortical network as task demands increase.Significance statementOlder adults often activate brain regions not engaged by younger adults, but the circumstances under which this widespread network emerges are unclear. Here, we examined the effects of aging on network connectivity between task regions recruited during a working memory (WM) manipulation task, and the rest of the brain. We found an age-related increase in the more global network integration in older adults, and an association between this integration and working memory capacity in older adults. The findings are generally consistent with the compensatory interpretation of these effects.

scholarly journals Investigating the Effects of Spacing on Working Memory Training Outcome: A Randomized, Controlled, Multisite Trial in Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1181-1192
Author(s):  
Susanne M Jaeggi ◽  
Martin Buschkuehl ◽  
Chelsea M Parlett-Pelleriti ◽  
Seung Min Moon ◽  
Michelle Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Objective The majority of the population will experience some cognitive decline with age. Therefore, the development of effective interventions to mitigate age-related decline is critical for older adults’ cognitive functioning and their quality of life. Methods In our randomized controlled multisite trial, we target participants’ working memory (WM) skills, and in addition, we focus on the intervention’s optimal scheduling in order to test whether and how the distribution of training sessions might affect task learning, and ultimately, transfer. Healthy older adults completed an intervention targeting either WM or general knowledge twice per day, once per day, or once every-other-day. Before and after the intervention and 3 months after training completion, participants were tested in a variety of cognitive domains, including those representing functioning in everyday life. Results In contrast to our hypotheses, spacing seems to affect learning only minimally. We did observe some transfer effects, especially within the targeted cognitive domain (WM and inhibition/interference), which remained stable at the 3-month follow-up. Discussion Our findings have practical implications by showing that the variation in training schedule, at least within the range used here, does not seem to be a crucial element for training benefits.

NIMG-14. RESTING STATE EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND SALIENCE NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IN CLINICALLY STABLE LOWER GRADE GLIOMA COVARIES WITH COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi130-vi131
Author(s):  
Tracy Luks ◽  
Javier Villanueva-Meyer ◽  
Christina Weyer-Jamora ◽  
Melissa Brie ◽  
Ellen Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Lower Grade

Abstract BACKGROUND Survival outcomes for patients with lower grade gliomas (LrGG) are improving. However, injury from tumor growth and consequences of treatment often leads to impaired cognition, particularly in cognitive domains reliant on distributed functional networks and intact white-matter tracts. Resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) is a method of investigating the integrity of these functional networks. METHODS This study investigated rsfMRI connectivity in 21 patients with clinically stable LrGG compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls, and associated imaging measures with cognitive outcomes. Data were acquired for 12 cognitive tests administered within one week of imaging. RsfMRI and T1-weighted images for 21 research controls were acquired from OpenNeuro datasets. RsfMRI data were processed and analyzed using the CONN toolbox using CONN’s standard regions of interest (ROI) for the 8 canonical networks as seeds, and cognitive test scores as covariates, with a threshold for T tests of p< .001 uncorrected. RESULTS Median age was 48 years old (range 27-67). There were 6 astrocytomas, IDHmut; 3 astrocytomas IDH-wt, 8 oligodendrogliomas, and 4 NOS. Thirteen had left hemisphere tumors (8 frontal, 3 parietal, 2 temporal), and 6 right (5 frontal, 1 temporal). Fourteen had previously recieved radiotherapy. There was significantly lower connectivity in frontoparietal executive control and the salience networks in LrGG patients versus controls. Within patients, lower executive control network connectivity covaried with worse performance on executive measures (FAS, Tower of London, Trails-A, Animal Naming, FrSBe), and attention and working memory measures (Digit Symbol, HVLT). Lower salience network connectivity covaried with poorer performance on executive measures (FrSBe, FAS) and attention and working memory measures (Digit Span, HVLT, WAIS-WM). CONCLUSION In clinically stable LrGG, rsfMRI measures of network connectivity are potentially useful markers to monitor and track, given the concordance with cognition, and could help guide cognitive assessment and rehabilitation.

scholarly journals Frontal White Matter Hyperintensities and Executive Functioning Performance in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel M. Boutzoukas ◽  
Andrew O'Shea ◽  
Alejandro Albizu ◽  
Nicole D. Evangelista ◽  
Hanna K. Hausman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensities ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Age Related

Frontal lobe structures decline faster than most other brain regions in older adults. Age-related change in the frontal lobe is associated with poorer executive function (e.g., working memory, switching/set-shifting, and inhibitory control). The effects and presence of frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on executive function in normal aging is relatively unknown. The current study assessed relationships between region-specific frontal WMH load and cognitive performance in healthy older adults using three executive function tasks from the NIH Toolbox (NIHTB) Cognition Battery. A cohort of 279 healthy older adults ages 65–88 completed NIHTB and 3T T1-weighted and FLAIR MRI. Lesion Segmentation Toolbox quantified WMH volume and generated lesion probability maps. Individual lesion maps were registered to the Desikan-Killiany atlas in FreeSurfer 6.0 to define regions of interest (ROI). Independent linear regressions assessed relationships between executive function performance and region-specific WMH in frontal lobe ROIs. All models included age, sex, education, estimated total intracranial volume, multi-site scanner differences, and cardiovascular disease risk using Framingham criteria as covariates. Poorer set-shifting performance was associated with greater WMH load in three frontal ROIs including bilateral superior frontal (left β = −0.18, FDR-p = 0.02; right β = −0.20, FDR-p = 0.01) and right medial orbitofrontal (β = −0.17, FDR-p = 0.02). Poorer inhibitory performance associated with higher WMH load in one frontal ROI, the right superior frontal (right β = −0.21, FDR-p = 0.01). There were no significant associations between working memory and WMH in frontal ROIs. Our study demonstrates that location and pattern of frontal WMH may be important to assess when examining age-related differences in cognitive functions involving switching/set-shifting and inhibition. On the other hand, working memory performance was not related to presence of frontal WMH in this sample. These data suggest that WMH may contribute selectively to age-related declines in executive function. Findings emerged beyond predictors known to be associated with WMH presence, including age and cardiovascular disease risk. The spread of WMH within the frontal lobes may play a key role in the neuropsychological profile of cognitive aging. Further research should explore whether early intervention on modifiable vascular factors or cognitive interventions targeted for executive abilities may help mitigate the effect of frontal WMH on executive function.

scholarly journals Verbal Working Memory in Older Adults: The Roles of Phonological Capacities and Processing Speed

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1520-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Nittrouer ◽  
Joanna H. Lowenstein ◽  
Taylor Wucinich ◽  
Aaron C. Moberly
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Serial Recall ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Age Related

Purpose This study examined the potential roles of phonological sensitivity and processing speed in age-related declines of verbal working memory. Method Twenty younger and 25 older adults with age-normal hearing participated. Two measures of verbal working memory were collected: digit span and serial recall of words. Processing speed was indexed using response times during those tasks. Three other measures were also obtained, assessing phonological awareness, processing, and recoding. Results Forward and reverse digit spans were similar across groups. Accuracy on the serial recall task was poorer for older than for younger adults, and response times were slower. When response time served as a covariate, the age effect for accuracy was reduced. Phonological capacities were equivalent across age groups, so we were unable to account for differences across age groups in verbal working memory. Nonetheless, when outcomes for only older adults were considered, phonological awareness and processing speed explained significant proportions of variance in serial recall accuracy. Conclusion Slowing in processing abilities accounts for the primary trajectory of age-related declines in verbal working memory. However, individual differences in phonological capacities explain variability among individual older adults.

scholarly journals Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with listening to preferred music on memory in older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricky Chow ◽  
Alix Noly-Gandon ◽  
Aline Moussard ◽  
Jennifer D. Ryan ◽  
Claude Alain
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Subsequent Performance ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation

AbstractListening to autobiographically-salient music (i.e., music evoking personal memories from the past), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have each been suggested to temporarily improve older adults’ subsequent performance on memory tasks. Limited research has investigated the effects of combining both tDCS and music listening together on cognition. The present study examined whether anodal tDCS stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (2 mA, 20 min) with concurrent listening to autobiographically-salient music amplified subsequent changes in working memory and recognition memory in older adults than either tDCS or music listening alone. In a randomized sham-controlled crossover study, 14 healthy older adults (64–81 years) participated in three neurostimulation conditions: tDCS with music listening (tDCS + Music), tDCS in silence (tDCS-only), or sham-tDCS with music listening (Sham + Music), each separated by at least a week. Working memory was assessed pre- and post-stimulation using a digit span task, and recognition memory was assessed post-stimulation using an auditory word recognition task (WRT) during which electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Performance on the backwards digit span showed improvement in tDCS + Music, but not in tDCS-only or Sham + Music conditions. Although no differences in behavioural performance were observed in the auditory WRT, changes in neural correlates underlying recognition memory were observed following tDCS + Music compared to Sham + Music. Findings suggest listening to autobiographically-salient music may amplify the effects of tDCS for working memory, and highlight the potential utility of neurostimulation combined with personalized music to improve cognitive performance in the aging population.

Neuropsychological deficits in adults age 60 and above with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 90-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.B. Thorell ◽  
Y. Holst ◽  
H. Chistiansen ◽  
J.J.S. Kooij ◽  
D. Bijlenga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Neuropsychological Deficits ◽  
Delay Aversion ◽  
Speed Of Processing ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Memory Inhibition

AbstractObjective:Neuropsychological deficits are of major importance in ADHD, yet no previous studies have assessed clinically referred samples of older adults. The authors compared older adults with ADHD (60–75 years) with both younger adults with ADHD (18–45 years) and older healthy controls with regard to various neuropsychological deficits.Methods:Well-established tests were used to investigate working memory, inhibition, switching, planning, fluency, and speed of processing. Self-ratings of executive functioning and delay-related behaviors were also included. Both variable-oriented and person-oriented analyses were conducted.Results:Older adults with ADHD differed from controls with regard to working memory, inhibition, switching, and delay-related behaviors. In comparison to younger adults with ADHD, they performed at a similar level with regard to working memory and planning, but significantly better with regard to inhibition, switching, fluency, speed of processing, and delay aversion. Despite several significant group differences relative to controls, person-oriented analyses demonstrated that a majority of older adults with ADHD performed within the average range on each test and 20% showed no clear deficit within any neuropsychological domain.Conclusions:The results are in line with models of heterogeneity that have identified different neuropsychological subtypes in ADHD as well as a subgroup of patients without any clear neuropsychological deficits. For older adults with ADHD, it will be important to assess their functioning across time as normal aging is related to memory decline and these patients could therefore end up with severe deficits as they grow older, which in turn could have serious negative effects on daily life functioning.

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