Müller Laura D, Guhn Anne, Zeller Julia B M, Biehl Stefanie C, Dresler Thomas, Hahn Tim, Fallgatter Andreas J, Polak Thomas, Deckert Jürgen, Herrmann Martin J
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Neuropsychologia. 2014 Apr;56:271-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.019. Epub 2014 Feb 10.
The trail making test (TMT) is a widely applied diagnostic tool measuring executive functioning in order to discriminate between healthy and pathological aging processes. However, due to its paper-and-pencil nature it is difficult to adapt for functional brain imaging. Related neural underpinnings even in healthy aging are mostly unknown since no consistent administration for imaging is available. In this study a standardized implementation of the TMT for functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is proposed to investigate associated frontal cortex activation in healthy young (mean age 25.7 ± 3.02 years) and elderly adults (mean age 70.95 ± 3.55 years). The TMT consisted of a number condition (TMT-A), an alternating number and letter condition (TMT-B) as well as a control task. Behavioral results demonstrated that elderly participants performed slower but committed a similar number of errors compared to younger adults. The fNIRS results showed that particularly the TMT-B provoked bilateral activation in the ventro- and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC and dlPFC) as well as in premotor regions. Elderly participants displayed more significantly activated channels and a different activation pattern compared to younger participants especially manifesting in more bilateral dlPFC activation. In line with the hemispheric asymmetry reduction in elderly adults (HAROLD) model, the results were interpreted as an additional need for cognitive control resources in elderly participants. This study succeeded in implementing an appropriate version of the TMT for fNIRS and helps elucidating neural aging effects associated with this task.
连线测验（TMT）是一种广泛应用的诊断工具，用于测量执行功能，以区分健康衰老和病理性衰老过程。然而，由于其纸笔性质，难以适用于功能性脑成像。即使在健康衰老过程中，相关的神经基础也大多未知，因为尚无用于成像的一致施测方法。在本研究中，提出了一种用于功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）的TMT标准化实施方案，以研究健康年轻人（平均年龄25.7±3.02岁）和老年人（平均年龄70.95±3.55岁）相关的额叶皮层激活情况。TMT包括数字条件（TMT-A）、数字和字母交替条件（TMT-B）以及一个对照任务。行为结果表明，与年轻成年人相比，老年参与者表现得较慢，但犯错数量相似。fNIRS结果显示，特别是TMT-B引起了腹侧和背外侧前额叶皮层（vlPFC和dlPFC）以及运动前区的双侧激活。与年轻参与者相比，老年参与者表现出更多显著激活的通道和不同的激活模式，尤其表现为双侧dlPFC激活更多。与老年人半球不对称性降低（HAROLD）模型一致，这些结果被解释为老年参与者对认知控制资源有额外需求。本研究成功地为fNIRS实施了合适版本的TMT，并有助于阐明与此任务相关的神经衰老效应。
