Journal Article

FZJ-2020-03268

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png The Aging Brain and Executive Functions Revisited: Implications from Meta-analytic and Functional Connectivity Evidence

Heckner, M. K. (Corresponding author)FZJ* ; Cieslik, E. C. (Corresponding author)FZJ* ; Eickhoff, S. B.FZJ* ; Camilleri, J.FZJ* ; Hoffstaedter, F.FZJ* ; Langner, R.FZJ*

2021
MIT Pr. Journals Cambridge, Mass.

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/28502  doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01616

Abstract: Healthy aging is associated with changes in cognitive performance, including executive functions (EFs) and their associated brain activation patterns. However, it has remained unclear which EF-related brain regions are affected consistently, because the results of pertinent neuroimaging studies and earlier meta-analyses vary considerably. We, therefore, conducted new rigorous meta-analyses of published age differences in EF-related brain activity. Out of a larger set of regions associated with EFs, only the left inferior frontal junction and the left anterior cuneus/precuneus were found to show consistent age differences. To further characterize these two age-sensitive regions, we performed seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC) analyses using fMRI data from a large adult sample with a wide age range. We also assessed associations of the two regions' whole-brain RS-FC patterns with age and EF performance. Although functional profiling and RS-FC analyses point toward a domain-general role of the left inferior frontal junction in EFs, the pattern of individual study contributions to the meta-analytic results suggests process-specific modulations by age. Our analyses further indicate that the left anterior cuneus/precuneus is recruited differently by older (compared with younger) adults during EF tasks, potentially reflecting inefficiencies in switching the attentional focus. Overall, our findings question earlier meta-analytic results and suggest a larger heterogeneity of age-related differences in brain activity associated with EFs. Hence, they encourage future research that pays greater attention to replicability, investigates age-related differences in deactivation, and focuses on more narrowly defined EF subprocesses, combining multiple behavioral assessments with multimodal imaging.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Gehirn & Verhalten (INM-7)

Research Program(s):

1. 572 - (Dys-)function and Plasticity (POF3-572) (POF3-572)
2. 5252 - Brain Dysfunction and Plasticity (POF4-525) (POF4-525)

Appears in the scientific report 2021

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Database coverage:
; ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Social Sciences Citation Index ; Web of Science Core Collection

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