Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Geroscience. 2022 Apr;44(2):847-866. doi: 10.1007/s11357-021-00503-1. Epub 2021 Dec 23.
Executive function is a cognitive domain that typically declines in non-pathological aging. Two cognitive control networks that are vulnerable to aging-the cingulo-opercular (CON) and fronto-parietal control (FPCN) networks-play a role in various aspects of executive functioning. However, it is unclear how communication within these networks at rest relates to executive function subcomponents in older adults. This study examines the associations between CON and FPCN connectivity and executive function performance in 274 older adults across working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting tasks. Average CON connectivity was associated with better working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting performance, while average FPCN connectivity was associated solely with working memory. CON region of interest analyses revealed significant connections with classical hub regions (i.e., anterior cingulate and anterior insula) for each task, language regions for verbal working memory, right hemisphere dominance for inhibitory control, and widespread network connections for set-shifting. FPCN region of interest analyses revealed largely right hemisphere fronto-parietal connections important for working memory and a few temporal lobe connections for set-shifting. These findings characterize differential brain-behavior relationships between cognitive control networks and executive function in aging. Future research should target these networks for intervention to potentially attenuate executive function decline in older adults.
执行功能是认知领域的一个分支，通常在非病理性衰老过程中会下降。两个易受衰老影响的认知控制网络——扣带-脑岛（CON）和额顶控制（FPCN）网络——在执行功能的各个方面都发挥着作用。然而，目前尚不清楚在静息状态下这些网络内的通讯如何与老年人的执行功能子成分相关。本研究在 274 名老年人中，考察了 CON 和 FPCN 连接与工作记忆、抑制和转换任务中的执行功能表现之间的关联。平均 CON 连接与更好的工作记忆、抑制和转换表现相关，而平均 FPCN 连接仅与工作记忆相关。CON 的兴趣区域分析显示，每个任务都与经典的中枢区域（即前扣带和前岛叶）、语言区域（言语工作记忆）、右半球优势（抑制控制）和广泛的网络连接（转换）存在显著连接。FPCN 的兴趣区域分析显示，工作记忆中主要与右侧额顶连接有关，转换中与几个颞叶连接有关。这些发现描绘了认知控制网络与衰老过程中执行功能之间的不同大脑-行为关系。未来的研究应该针对这些网络进行干预，以潜在地减轻老年人的执行功能下降。
