Geerligs Linda, Saliasi Emi, Maurits Natasha M, Renken Remco J, Lorist Monicque M
Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands; Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 2, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands.
Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 2, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands.
Neuroimage. 2014 May 1;91:52-62. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.01.029. Epub 2014 Jan 25.
The ability to suppress irrelevant information declines with age, while the ability to enhance relevant information remains largely intact. We examined mechanisms behind this dissociation in an fMRI study, using a selective attention task in which relevant and irrelevant information appeared simultaneously. Slowing of response times due to distraction by irrelevant targets was larger in older than younger participants. Increased distraction was related to larger increases in activity and connectivity in areas of the dorsal attention network, indicating a more pronounced (re-)orientation of attention. The decreases in accuracy in target compared to nontarget trials were smaller in older compared to younger participants. In older adults we found increased recruitment of areas in the fronto-parietal control network (FPCN) during target detection. Moreover, older adults showed increased connectivity between the FPCN, supporting cognitive control, and somatomotor areas implicated in response selection and execution. This connectivity increase was related to improved target detection, suggesting that older adults engage additional cognitive control, which might enable the observed intact performance in detecting and responding to target stimuli.
抑制无关信息的能力会随着年龄增长而下降，而增强相关信息的能力在很大程度上仍保持完好。我们在一项功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究中，通过一项选择性注意力任务来探究这种分离背后的机制，在该任务中相关信息和无关信息同时出现。与年轻参与者相比，年长参与者因无关目标的干扰而导致的反应时间延长更为明显。干扰增加与背侧注意力网络区域的活动和连接性更大幅度的增加有关，这表明注意力的（重新）定向更为显著。与非目标试验相比，年长参与者在目标试验中的准确性下降幅度小于年轻参与者。在年长成年人中，我们发现在目标检测过程中额顶叶控制网络（FPCN）区域的激活增加。此外，年长成年人在支持认知控制的FPCN与涉及反应选择和执行的躯体运动区域之间表现出连接性增加。这种连接性增加与目标检测的改善有关，这表明年长成年人会运用额外的认知控制，这可能使得他们在检测和响应目标刺激时表现出所观察到的完好性能。
