The influence of aging and frontal function on the neural correlates of regulative and evaluative aspects of cognitive control.

The influence of aging and frontal function on the neural correlates of regulative and evaluative control was examined by means of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The behavioral data indicated that interference was greater for older than for younger adults and that this difference was mediated by frontal function. The ERP data revealed effects of aging on the neural correlates of both regulative and evaluative control. Prestimulus neural activity was correlated with response time and frontal function, and these relationships were moderated by the response-to-stimulus interval (RSI); the poststimulus data also revealed age-related differences in the neural correlates of evaluative control that interacted with RSI. These data support predictions derived from the context processing deficit theory of aging.