scholarly journals Cognitive Control in Young and Older Adults: Does Mood Matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Linda Truong ◽  
Kesaan Kandasamy ◽  
Lixia Yang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Mood Induction ◽  
Control Mode ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Control Framework ◽  
Neutral Mood

The dual mechanisms of control framework (DMC) proposes two modes of cognitive control: proactive and reactive control. In anticipation of an interference event, young adults primarily use a more proactive control mode, whereas older adults tend to use a more reactive one during the event, due to age-related deficits in working memory. The current study aimed to examine the effects of mood induction on cognitive control mode in older (ages 65+) compared to young adults (ages 18–30) with a standard letter-cue (Experiment 1) and a modified face-cue AX-CPT (Experiment 2). Mood induction into negative and/or positive mood versus neutral mood was conducted prior to the cognitive control task. Experiment 1 replicated the typical pattern of proactive control use in young adults and reactive control use in older adults. In Experiment 2, older adults showed comparable proactive control to young adults in their response time (RT). Mood induction showed little effect on cognitive control across the two experiments. These results did not reveal consistent effects of mood (negative or positive) on cognitive control mode in young and older adults, but discovered (or demonstrated) that older adults can engage proactive control when dichotomous face cues (female or male) are used in AX-CPT.

scholarly journals The Interactions Between Cognitive Control, Aging, and Emotion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Truong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Goal Maintenance ◽  
Age Related

The dual mechanisms of control framework proposes that age-related declines in cognitive control are due to deficits with continuous goal maintenance (proactive control). Older adults default instead to another form of control (reactive control). In contrast to these declines, older adults demonstrate preserved emotional processing. According to the socioemotional selectivity theory, perceived time constraints related to advancing age results in emotional regulation goals in which older adults prioritize positive well-being or mood. To achieve this, they devote more cognitive resources and pay greater attention to positive versus negative information (“positivity effects”) than younger adults. Research on the interactions between cognitive control and emotion is increasing but work focused on the interactions in older adults is limited. Thus, it is unknown how older adults' emotional goals may influence their goal maintenance deficits. This study manipulated mood and emotional face stimuli to examine whether these factors affect age differences in cognitive control between younger (ages 18-30) and older adults (ages 65+). Experiment 1 induced neutral or negative moods prior to a cognitive control task (the standard letter AX-CPT task). Results indicated typical patterns of proactive control in younger adults and reactive control in older adults that did not vary substantially by mood. Experiment 2 examined the effects of neutral, negative, and positive mood inductions on a less cognitively demanding version of the AX-CPT (with face cues as contextual information). Results showed evidence of enhanced proactive control in older adults that was comparable to that of younger adults across all mood conditions, although this was limited to response time data. Additionally, there was evidence of small mood effects on cognitive control. Finally, Experiment 3 examined the effect of positive, negative, and neutral contextual information (face cues) on older adults' cognitive control performance using a different variant of the AX-CPT (face AX-CPT). Results indicated strong engagement in reactive control that did not vary by the emotionality of the contextual information. Together, the results of this study suggest that older adults’ proactive control patterns are affected by the task demands of the AX-CPT, but there is less evidence of mood or emotional stimuli effects.

scholarly journals Developing Adaptive Control: Age-related Differences in Task Choices and Awareness of Proactive and Reactive Control Demands

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse C Niebaum ◽  
Nicolas Chevalier ◽  
Ryan Mori Guild ◽  
Yuko Munakata
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Control Mode ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Age Related

Developmental changes in executive function are often explained in terms of core cognitive processes and associated neural substrates. For example, younger children tend to engage control reactively in the moment as needed, whereas older children increasingly engage control proactively, in anticipation of needing it. Such developments may reflect increasing capacities for active maintenance dependent upon dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. However, younger children will engage proactive control when reactive control is made more difficult, suggesting that developmental changes may also reflect decisions about whether to engage control, and how. We tested awareness of temporal control demands and associated task choices in 5- and 10-year-olds and adults using a demand selection task. Participants chose between one task that enabled proactive control and another task that enabled reactive control. Adults reported awareness of these different control demands and preferentially played the proactive task option. Ten-year-olds reported awareness of control demands but selected task options at chance. Five-year-olds showed neither awareness nor task preference, but a subsample who exhibited awareness of control demands preferentially played the reactive task option, mirroring their typical control mode. Thus, developmental improvements in executive function may in part reflect better awareness of cognitive demands and adaptive behavior, which may in turn reflect changes in dorsal anterior cingulate in signaling task demands to lateral prefrontal cortex.

scholarly journals Spontaneous Alpha and Theta Oscillations Are Related to Complementary Aspects of Cognitive Control in Younger and Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace M. Clements ◽  
Daniel C. Bowie ◽  
Mate Gyurkovics ◽  
Kathy A. Low ◽  
Monica Fabiani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Task Sets ◽  
Task Representations

The resting-state human electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum is dominated by alpha (8–12 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) oscillations, and also includes non-oscillatory broadband activity inversely related to frequency (1/f activity). Gratton proposed that alpha and theta oscillations are both related to cognitive control function, though in a complementary manner. Alpha activity is hypothesized to facilitate the maintenance of representations, such as task sets in preparation for expected task conditions. In contrast, theta activity would facilitate changes in representations, such as the updating of task sets in response to unpredicted task demands. Therefore, theta should be related to reactive control (which may prompt changes in task representations), while alpha may be more relevant to proactive control (which implies the maintenance of current task representations). Less is known about the possible relationship between 1/f activity and cognitive control, which was analyzed here in an exploratory fashion. To investigate these hypothesized relationships, we recorded eyes-open and eyes-closed resting-state EEG from younger and older adults and subsequently tested their performance on a cued flanker task, expected to elicit both proactive and reactive control processes. Results showed that alpha power and 1/f offset were smaller in older than younger adults, whereas theta power did not show age-related reductions. Resting alpha power and 1/f offset were associated with proactive control processes, whereas theta power was related to reactive control as measured by the cued flanker task. All associations were present over and above the effect of age, suggesting that these resting-state EEG correlates could be indicative of trait-like individual differences in cognitive control performance, which may be already evident in younger adults, and are still similarly present in healthy older adults.

scholarly journals Can a Theater Acting Intervention Enhance Inhibitory Control in Older Adults? A Brain-Behavior Investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishwarya Rajesh ◽  
Tony Noice ◽  
Helga Noice ◽  
Andrew Jahn ◽  
Ana M. Daugherty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Age Related

Purpose: Studies of reactive and proactive modes of inhibitory control tend to show age-related declines and are accompanied by abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. We explored which mode of inhibitory control would be more amenable to change and accrue greater benefits following engagement in a 4-week theater acting intervention in older adults. These gains were evaluated by performance on the AX-CPT task. We hypothesized that an increase in proactive control would relate to an increase in AY errors and a decrease in BX errors. In contrast, an increase in reactive control would be associated with a decrease in AY errors, no change in AY reaction time, and an increase in BX response time. Further, we posited that an increase in behavioral proactive control would accompany greater cue versus probe activity for previously identified regions in the prefrontal cortex. In contrast, an increase in behavioral reactive control would be accompanied by greater probe activation in these identified brain areas.Materials and Methods: The participants were 179 community-dwelling adults aged 60–89 years who were on average, college-educated. Participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to either an active-experiencing acting intervention condition (n = 93) or the active control condition (n = 86); participant assignment was subject to time of enrollment. Participants in both groups were trained by theater-actor researchers with expertise in acting interventions. In contrast to the active control participants who attended a course on theater acting, the acting-intervention group was required to consistently deploy proactive and reactive control mechanisms. Both groups met two times/week for 75-min for 4 weeks. Participant brain-behavioral performance on the AX-CPT task was evaluated prior to and after this four-week period.Results: No intervention effects were found in favor of proactive control. Behavioral evidence in favor of reactive control was weak. Brain-related benefits to reactive control was illustrated by greater probe-activation in Brodmann areas 6 and 8, relative to controls and pre-intervention.Conclusion: We found some evidence for improvements in reactive control via brain measures, attributed to engagement in the acting intervention.

scholarly journals Spontaneous alpha and theta oscillations are related to complementary aspects of cognitive control in younger and older adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace M. Clements ◽  
Daniel C. Bowie ◽  
Mate Gyurkovics ◽  
Kathy A. Low ◽  
Monica Fabiani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Task Sets ◽  
Task Representations

AbstractThe resting-state human EEG power spectrum is dominated by alpha (8-12 Hz) and theta (4-8Hz) oscillations, and also includes non-oscillatory broadband activity inversely related to frequency (1/f activity). Gratton (2018) proposed that alpha and theta oscillations are both related to cognitive control function, though in a complementary manner. Alpha activity is hypothesized to facilitate the maintenance of representations, such as task sets in preparation for expected task conditions. In contrast, theta activity would facilitate changes in representations, such as the updating of task sets in response to unpredicted task demands. Therefore, theta should be related to reactive control (which may prompt changes in task representations), while alpha may be more relevant to proactive control (which implies the maintenance of current task representations). Less is known about the possible relationship between 1/f activity and cognitive control, which was analyzed here in an exploratory fashion. To investigate these hypothesized relationships, we recorded eyes-open and eyes-closed resting-state EEG from younger and older adults and subsequently tested their performance on a cued flanker task, expected to elicit both proactive and reactive control processes. Results showed that alpha power and 1/f slope were smaller in older than younger adults, whereas theta power did not show age-related reductions. Resting alpha power and 1/f slope were predictive of proactive control processes, whereas theta power was related to reactive control as measured by the cued flanker task. All predictive associations were present over and above the effect of age, suggesting that these resting-state EEG correlates could be indicative of trait-like individual differences in cognitive control performance, which may be already evident in younger adults, and are still similarly present in healthy older adults.

Inefficient Encoding as an Explanation for Age-Related Deficits in Recollection-Based Processing

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Friedman ◽  
Ray Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Face ◽  
Episodic Memories

A cardinal feature of aging is a decline in episodic memory (EM). Nevertheless, there is evidence that some older adults may be able to “compensate” for failures in recollection-based processing by recruiting brain regions and cognitive processes not normally recruited by the young. We review the evidence suggesting that age-related declines in EM performance and recollection-related brain activity (left-parietal EM effect; LPEM) are due to altered processing at encoding. We describe results from our laboratory on differences in encoding- and retrieval-related activity between young and older adults. We then show that, relative to the young, in older adults brain activity at encoding is reduced over a brain region believed to be crucial for successful semantic elaboration in a 400–1,400-ms interval (left inferior prefrontal cortex, LIPFC; Johnson, Nessler, & Friedman, 2013 ; Nessler, Friedman, Johnson, & Bersick, 2007 ; Nessler, Johnson, Bersick, & Friedman, 2006 ). This reduced brain activity is associated with diminished subsequent recognition-memory performance and the LPEM at retrieval. We provide evidence for this premise by demonstrating that disrupting encoding-related processes during this 400–1,400-ms interval in young adults affords causal support for the hypothesis that the reduction over LIPFC during encoding produces the hallmarks of an age-related EM deficit: normal semantic retrieval at encoding, reduced subsequent episodic recognition accuracy, free recall, and the LPEM. Finally, we show that the reduced LPEM in young adults is associated with “additional” brain activity over similar brain areas as those activated when older adults show deficient retrieval. Hence, rather than supporting the compensation hypothesis, these data are more consistent with the scaffolding hypothesis, in which the recruitment of additional cognitive processes is an adaptive response across the life span in the face of momentary increases in task demand due to poorly-encoded episodic memories.

Age-Related Differences in Motivational Integration and Cognitive Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Marianne Yee ◽  
Sarah L Adams ◽  
Asad Beck ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

Motivational incentives play an influential role in value-based decision-making and cognitive control. A compelling hypothesis in the literature suggests that the brain integrates the motivational value of diverse incentives (e.g., motivational integration) into a common currency value signal that influences decision-making and behavior. To investigate whether motivational integration processes change during healthy aging, we tested older (N=44) and younger (N=54) adults in an innovative incentive integration task paradigm that establishes dissociable and additive effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. The results reveal that motivational incentives improve cognitive task performance in both older and younger adults, providing novel evidence demonstrating that age-related cognitive control deficits can be ameliorated with sufficient incentive motivation. Additional analyses revealed clear age-related differences in motivational integration. Younger adult task performance was modulated by both monetary and liquid incentives, whereas monetary reward effects were more gradual in older adults and more strongly impacted by trial-by-trial performance feedback. A surprising discovery was that older adults shifted attention from liquid valence toward monetary reward throughout task performance, but younger adults shifted attention from monetary reward toward integrating both monetary reward and liquid valence by the end of the task, suggesting differential strategic utilization of incentives. Together these data suggest that older adults may have impairments in incentive integration, and employ different motivational strategies to improve cognitive task performance. The findings suggest potential candidate neural mechanisms that may serve as the locus of age-related change, providing targets for future cognitive neuroscience investigations.

Mechanism of Sequential Swallowing During Straw Drinking in Healthy Young and Older Adults

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie K. Daniels ◽  
David M. Corey ◽  
Leslie D. Hadskey ◽  
Calli Legendre ◽  
Daniel H. Priestly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Normal Aging ◽  
Significant Relation ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Laryngeal Penetration ◽  
Airway Invasion ◽  
Edge Location

Recent research has revealed differences between isolated and sequential swallowing in healthy young adults; however, the influence of normal aging on sequential swallowing has not been studied. Thus, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of normal aging on deglutition during sequential straw drinking. Videofluoroscopic samples of two 10-s straw drinking trials were obtained for 20 healthy young men (age 29±3 years) and 18 healthy older men (age 69±7 years). Hyolaryngeal complex (HLC) movement patterns, leading edge of the bolus location at swallow onset, and occurrences of airway invasion were determined. Two HLC patterns were identified: (a) HLC lowering with the epiglottis returned to upright between swallows and (b) partially maintained HLC elevation with the epiglottis inverted between swallows. The bolus was frequently in the hypopharynx at swallow onset. Strong associations were identified between age and HLC pattern, age and leading edge of the bolus location, and HLC pattern and leading edge location. Laryngeal penetration was uncommon overall; however, it occurred more frequently in the older adults than in the young adults. A significant relation was identified between age and the average Penetration-Aspiration Scale score. Laryngeal penetration was associated with both HLC movement patterns and hypopharyngeal bolus location, particularly in older adults. Results indicate that subtle age-related differences are evident in healthy young and older adults with sequential straw drinking. These data suggest that specific inherent swallowing patterns may increase the risk of laryngeal penetration with normal aging.

Processing gender stereotypes in dementia patients and older healthy adults: a self-paced reading study

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (s2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Müller-Feldmeth ◽  
Katharina Ahnefeld ◽  
Adriana Hanulíková
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Age Related

AbstractWe used self-paced reading to examine whether stereotypical associations of verbs with women or men as prototypical agents (e.g. the craftsman knits a sweater) are activated during sentence processing in dementia patients and healthy older adults. Effects of stereotypical knowledge on language processing have frequently been observed in young adults, but little is known about age-related changes in the activation and integration of stereotypical information. While syntactic processing may remain intact, semantic capacities are often affected in dementia. Since inferences based on gender stereotypes draw on social and world knowledge, access to stereotype information may also be affected in dementia patients. Results from dementia patients (n = 9, average age 86.6) and healthy older adults (n = 14, average age 79.5) showed slower reading times and less accuracy in comprehension scores for dementia patients compared to the control group. While activation of stereotypical associations of verbs was visible in both groups, they differed with respect to the time-course of processing. The effect of stereotypes on comprehension accuracy was visible for healthy adults only. The evidence from reading times suggests that older adults with and without dementia engage stereotypical inferences during reading, which is in line with research on young adults.

scholarly journals Auditory word recognition across the lifespan

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrike K. Blumenfeld ◽  
Scott R. Schroeder ◽  
Susan C. Bobb ◽  
Max R. Freeman ◽  
Viorica Marian
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Auditory Word ◽  
Auditory Word Recognition ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Recent research suggests that bilingual experience reconfigures linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive processes. We examined the relationship between linguistic competition resolution and nonlinguistic cognitive control in younger and older adults who were either bilingual or monolingual. Participants heard words in English and identified the referent among four pictures while eye-movements were recorded. Target pictures (e.g., cab) appeared with a phonological competitor picture (e.g., cat) and two filler pictures. After each eye-tracking trial, priming probes assessed residual activation and inhibition of target and competitor words. When accounting for processing speed, results revealed that age-related changes in activation and inhibition are smaller in bilinguals than in monolinguals. Moreover, younger and older bilinguals, but not monolinguals, recruited similar inhibition mechanisms during word identification and during a nonlinguistic Stroop task. Results suggest that, during lexical access, bilinguals show more consistent competition resolution and recruitment of cognitive control across the lifespan than monolinguals.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document