School of Life Sciences, Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Graduate Degree Program,Arizona State University,Tempe, AZ,USA.
Department of Speech and Hearing Science,Arizona State University,Tempe, AZ,USA.
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2019 Jul;25(6):569-582. doi: 10.1017/S1355617719000274. Epub 2019 Apr 29.
Despite changes to brain integrity with aging, some functions like basic language processes remain remarkably preserved. One theory for the maintenance of function in light of age-related brain atrophy is the engagement of compensatory brain networks. This study examined age-related changes in the neural networks recruited for simple language comprehension.
Sixty-five adults (native English-speaking, right-handed, and cognitively normal) aged 17-85 years underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reading paradigm and structural scanning. The fMRI data were analyzed using independent component analysis to derive brain networks associated with reading comprehension.
Two typical frontotemporal language networks were identified, and these networks remained relatively stable across the wide age range. In contrast, three attention-related networks showed increased activation with increasing age. Furthermore, the increased recruitment of a dorsal attention network was negatively correlated to gray matter thickness in temporal regions, whereas an anterior frontoparietal network was positively correlated to gray matter thickness in insular regions.
We found evidence that older adults can exert increased effort and recruit additional attentional resources to maintain their reading abilities in light of increased cortical atrophy.
尽管大脑完整性随年龄的增长而发生变化，但某些功能（如基本语言过程）仍然保持惊人的稳定性。针对与年龄相关的脑萎缩情况下功能维持的一种理论是补偿性大脑网络的参与。本研究旨在探讨简单语言理解所涉及的神经网络随年龄的变化。
65 名成年人（以英语为母语，右利手，认知正常）的年龄在 17-85 岁之间，他们接受了功能磁共振成像（fMRI）阅读范式和结构扫描。使用独立成分分析对 fMRI 数据进行分析，以得出与阅读理解相关的大脑网络。
鉴定出两个典型的额颞语言网络，这些网络在广泛的年龄范围内相对稳定。相比之下，三个与注意力相关的网络随着年龄的增长而表现出更高的激活。此外，背侧注意网络的募集增加与颞叶区域的灰质厚度呈负相关，而额顶颞叶前网络与脑岛区域的灰质厚度呈正相关。
我们发现，随着皮质萎缩的增加，老年人可以通过增加注意力资源的投入来维持他们的阅读能力。
