scholarly journals Between-network Functional Connectivity Is Modified by Age and Cognitive Task Domain

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanna Varangis ◽  
Qolamreza Razlighi ◽  
Christian G. Habeck ◽  
Zachary Fisher ◽  
Yaakov Stern
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Networks ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Multiple Networks ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Network Flexibility ◽  
Neural Efficiency ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
And Task

Research on the cognitive neuroscience of aging has identified myriad neurocognitive processes that are affected by the aging process, with a focus on identifying neural correlates of cognitive function in aging. This study aimed to test whether internetwork connectivity among six cognitive networks is sensitive to age-related changes in neural efficiency and cognitive functioning. A factor analytic connectivity approach was used to model network interactions during 11 cognitive tasks grouped into four primary cognitive domains: vocabulary, perceptual speed, fluid reasoning, and episodic memory. Results showed that both age and task domain were related to internetwork connectivity and that some of the connections among the networks were associated with performance on the in-scanner tasks. These findings demonstrate that internetwork connectivity among several cognitive networks is not only affected by aging and task demands but also shows a relationship with task performance. As such, future studies examining internetwork connectivity in aging should consider multiple networks and multiple task conditions to better measure dynamic patterns of network flexibility over the course of cognitive aging.

scholarly journals The role of neural flexibility in cognitive aging

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanna Varangis ◽  
Weiwei Qi ◽  
Yaakov Stern ◽  
Seonjoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Networks ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Matrix Reasoning ◽  
Flexibility Measures ◽  
And Task

AbstractStudies assessing relationships between brain and cognitive changes in healthy aging have shown that a variety of aspects of brain structure and function explain a significant portion of the variability in cognitive outcomes throughout adulthood. Many studies assessing relationships between brain function and cognition have utilized time-averaged, or static functional connectivity methods to explore ways in which brain network organization may contribute to aspects of cognitive aging. However, recent studies in this field have suggested that time-varying, or dynamic measures of functional connectivity, which assess changes in functional connectivity throughout a scan session, may play a stronger role in explaining cognitive outcomes in healthy young adults. Further, both static and dynamic functional connectivity studies suggest that there may be differences in patterns of brain-cognition relationships as a function of whether or not the participant is performing a task during the scan. Thus, the goals of the present study were threefold: (1) assess whether dynamic connectivity (neural flexibility) during both resting as well as task-based scans is related to participant age and cognitive performance in a lifespan aging sample, (2) determine whether neural flexibility moderates relationships between age and cognitive performance, and (3) explore differences in neural flexibility between rest and task. Participants in the study were 423 healthy adults between the ages of 20-80 who provided resting state and/or task-based (Matrix Reasoning) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan data as part of their participation in two ongoing studies of cognitive aging. Neural flexibility measures from both resting and task-based scans reflected the number of times each node changed network assignment, and were averaged both across the whole brain (global neural flexibility) as well as within nine somatosensory/cognitive networks. Results showed that neural flexibility during the task was higher in older adults, and that neural flexibility in Default Mode and Visual networks was negatively related to performance on the Matrix Reasoning task. Resting state neural flexibility was not significantly related to either participant age or cognitive performance. Additionally, no neural flexibility measures that significantly moderated relationships between participant age and cognitive outcomes. Further, neural flexibility differed as a function of scan type, with resting state neural flexibility exhibiting significantly more variability than task-based neural flexibility. Thus, neural flexibility measures computed during a cognitive task may be more strongly related to cognitive performance across the adult lifespan, and are more sensitive to the effects of participant age on brain organization.

scholarly journals Dynamic Functional Connectivity between Order and Randomness and its Evolution across the Human Adult Lifespan

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demian Battaglia ◽  
Thomas Boudou ◽  
Enrique C. A. Hansen ◽  
Diego Lombardo ◽  
Sabrina Chettouf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Walk ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
List Type ◽  
Dynamic Functional Connectivity ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Task Conditions

AbstractFunctional Connectivity (FC) during resting-state or task conditions is not fixed but inherently dynamic. Yet, there is no consensus on whether fluctuations in FC may resemble isolated transitions between discrete FC states rather than continuous changes. This quarrel hampers advancing the study of dynamic FC. This is unfortunate as the structure of fluctuations in FC can certainly provide more information about developmental changes, aging, and progression of pathologies. We merge the two perspectives and consider dynamic FC as an ongoing network reconfiguration, including a stochastic exploration of the space of possible steady FC states. The statistical properties of this random walk deviate both from a purely “order-driven” dynamics, in which the mean FC is preserved, and from a purely “randomness-driven” scenario, in which fluctuations of FC remain uncorrelated over time. Instead, dynamic FC has a complex structure endowed with long-range sequential correlations that give rise to transient slowing and acceleration epochs in the continuous flow of reconfiguration. Our analysis for fMRI data in healthy elderly revealed that dynamic FC tends to slow down and becomes less complex as well as more random with increasing age. These effects appear to be strongly associated with age-related changes in behavioural and cognitive performance.HighlightsDynamic Functional Connectivity (dFC) at rest and during cognitive task performs a “complex” (anomalous) random walk.Speed of dFC slows down with aging.Resting dFC replaces complexity by randomness with aging.Task performance correlates with the speed and complexity of dFC.

scholarly journals What can Brinley Plots tell us about Cognitive Aging? Exploring Simulated Data and Modified Brinley Plots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Nicosia ◽  
Emily Cohen-Shikora ◽  
Michael Strube
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Task Conditions

Cognitive aging researchers have been challenged with demonstrating age-related effects above and beyond global slowing ever since Cerella raised this issue in 1990. As the literature has made clear, this has indeed proved to be a difficult task and continues to plague the field. One way that researchers have attempted to test for disproportionate age differences across task conditions is by using Brinley plots, or plotting the mean response latencies of older adults against the mean latencies for younger adults. The simplicity and large proportion of variance accounted for by these models has led to the widespread use of Brinley plots over the years. However, as systematically tested here through eight cases of simulated data, it is clear that the Brinley technique is not well suited to either identify or display the underlying structure of datasets examining age-related differences in attentional control. Some of the problems with conventional Brinley plots can be resolved by using a modified Brinley plot that includes study-specific slopes linking trial types and a no-age-difference reference line. Multilevel models find all of the relevant effects, especially if applied to trial-level data, and have the advantage of incorporating study-level moderators that might account for slope heterogeneity. Ultimately, we encourage fellow cognitive aging researchers to access the code and data for this project on OSF (https://osf.io/zxus8/) and employ the use of multilevel models over Brinley plots.

scholarly journals Overrecruitment in the Aging Brain as a Function of Task Demands: Evidence for a Compensatory View

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonino Vallesi ◽  
Anthony R. McIntosh ◽  
Donald T. Stuss
Keyword(s):  
Task Demands ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Partial Least Square Analysis ◽  
Age Related ◽  
High Conflict ◽  
Different Color ◽  
Task Conditions

This study used fMRI to investigate the neural effects of increasing cognitive demands in normal aging and their role for performance. Simple and complex go/no-go tasks were used with two versus eight colored letters as go stimuli, respectively. In both tasks, no-go stimuli could produce high conflict (same letter, different color) or low conflict (colored numbers) with go stimuli. Multivariate partial least square analysis of fMRI data showed that older adults overengaged a cohesive pattern of fronto-parietal regions with no-go stimuli under the specific combination of factors which progressively amplified task demands: high conflict no-go trials in the first phase of the complex task. This early neural overrecruitment was positively correlated with a lower error rate in the older group. Thus, the present data suggest that age-related extra-recruitment of neural resources can be beneficial for performance under taxing task conditions, such as when novel, weak, and complex rules have to be acquired.

scholarly journals Reduced Modulation of Task-Related Connectivity Mediates Age-Related Declines in Bimanual Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 4346-4360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Santos Monteiro ◽  
Hamed Zivari Adab ◽  
Sima Chalavi ◽  
Jolien Gooijers ◽  
Brad (Bradley) Ross King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Bimanual Coordination ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Bimanual Movements ◽  
Bimanual Performance ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract Aging is accompanied by marked changes in motor behavior and its neural correlates. At the behavioral level, age-related declines in motor performance manifest, for example, as a reduced capacity to inhibit interference between hands during bimanual movements, particularly when task complexity increases. At the neural level, aging is associated with reduced differentiation between distinct functional systems. Functional connectivity (FC) dedifferentiation is characterized by more homogeneous connectivity patterns across various tasks or task conditions, reflecting a reduced ability of the aging adult to modulate brain activity according to changing task demands. It is currently unknown, however, how whole-brain dedifferentiation interacts with increasing task complexity. In the present study, we investigated age- and task-related FC in a group of 96 human adults across a wide age range (19.9–74.5 years of age) during the performance of a bimanual coordination task of varying complexity. Our findings indicated stronger task complexity-related differentiation between visuomotor- and nonvisuomotor-related networks, though modulation capability decreased with increasing age. Decreased FC modulation mediated larger complexity-related increases in between-hand interference, reflective of worse bimanual coordination. Thus, the ability to maintain high motor performance levels in older adults is related to the capability to properly segregate and modulate functional networks.

scholarly journals CaReMoOC: Capacity, Reserve, Movement Objectives, and Compensation. A New Framework to Describe Mechanisms of Movement Limitations, Demonstrated for Ageing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eline van der Kruk ◽  
Anne K Silverman ◽  
Louis Koizia ◽  
Peter Reilly ◽  
Michael Fertleman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Fear Of Falling ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Task Demand ◽  
Muscular System ◽  
Specific Difference ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
Age Related ◽  
New Framework ◽  
And Task

To prevent, mitigate and treat movement impairments, we need to recognize early signs of decline and understand how to best compensate for limitations. The mechanisms leading to movement impairments are complex, overlapping, and interdependent and the fields of biomechanics, motor control, and physiology must be combined to understand these mechanisms. This article introduces CaReMoOC, a framework incorporating neuromusculoskeletal capacity (accumulation of neuromusculoskeletal resources over the lifespan), reserve (task-specific difference between capacity and task demand), movement objectives (considerations made to plan a movement), and compensation (use of NMSK resources to respond to the task demand). The framework is demonstrated for healthy ageing, providing an overview of age-related capacity decline (neural, skeletal, muscular system) and shifted weighting of movement objectives (energy, pain, stability, speed) relevant for biomechanics and motor control. Two forms of compensation are Compensation for Capacity, when capacity does not meet the task demands, and Compensation for Movement Objectives, when the movement is changed due to for example a fear of falling. Understanding the interrelationships between decline in the variables within capacity and the effect on compensation strategies will provide benefit in preventing mobility impairments and will support clinicians in their rehabilitation practice.

Activity Engagement in Cognitive Aging: A Review of the Evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Rogalski ◽  
Muriel Quintana
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

The population of older adults is rapidly increasing, as is the number and type of products and interventions proposed to prevent or reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline. Advocacy and prevention are part of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA’s) scope of practice documents, and speech-language pathologists must have basic awareness of the evidence contributing to healthy cognitive aging. In this article, we provide a brief overview outlining the evidence on activity engagement and its effects on cognition in older adults. We explore the current evidence around the activities of eating and drinking with a discussion on the potential benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, alcohol, and coffee. We investigate the evidence on the hypothesized neuroprotective effects of social activity, the evidence on computerized cognitive training, and the emerging behavioral and neuroimaging evidence on physical activity. We conclude that actively aging using a combination of several strategies may be our best line of defense against cognitive decline.

Focusing of Visuospatial Attention

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Pesce ◽  
Rainer Bösel
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Spatial Relation ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Simple Rt

Abstract In the present study we explored the focusing of visuospatial attention in subjects practicing and not practicing activities with high attentional demands. Similar to the studies of Castiello and Umiltà (e. g., 1990) , our experimental procedure was a variation of Posner's (1980) basic paradigm for exploring covert orienting of visuospatial attention. In a simple RT-task, a peripheral cue of varying size was presented unilaterally or bilaterally from a central fixation point and followed by a target at different stimulus-onset-asynchronies (SOAs). The target could occur validly inside the cue or invalidly outside the cue with varying spatial relation to its boundary. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and reaction times (RTs) were recorded to target stimuli under the different task conditions. RT and ERP findings showed converging aspects as well as dissociations. Electrophysiological results revealed an amplitude modulation of the ERPs in the early and late Nd time interval at both anterior and posterior scalp sites, which seems to be related to the effects of peripheral informative cues as well as to the attentional expertise. Results were: (1) shorter latency effects confirm the positive-going amplitude enhancement elicited by unilateral peripheral cues and strengthen the criticism against the neutrality of spatially nonpredictive peripheral cueing of all possible target locations which is often presumed in behavioral studies. (2) Longer latency effects show that subjects with attentional expertise modulate the distribution of the attentional resources in the visual space differently than nonexperienced subjects. Skilled practice may lead to minimizing attentional costs by automatizing the use of a span of attention that is adapted to the most frequent task demands and endogenously increases the allocation of resources to cope with less usual attending conditions.

Cognitive Aging in a Precision Sport Context

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Molander ◽  
Lars Bäckman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adult ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Intervention Programs ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Principal Finding

Highly skilled miniature golf players were examined in a series of field and laboratory studies. The principal finding from these studies is that young and young adult players (range = 15-38 years) score equally well or better in competition than in training whereas older adult players (range = 46-73 years) perform worse in competitive events than under training conditions. It was also found that the impairment in motor performance on the part of the older players is associated with age-related deficits in basic cognitive abilities, such as memory and attention. These results support the hypothesis that older players may be able to compensate for age-related deficits under relaxed conditions, but not under conditions of high arousal. The possibility of improving the performance of the older players in stressful situations by means of various intervention programs is discussed.

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