Cipriani Giuseppina Elena, Molfese Sara, Giovannelli Fabio, Güntekin Bahar, Vitali Neri, Marcato Rachele, Amanzio Martina
University of Turin, Department of Psychology, Turin, Italy; University of Turin, Department of Neuroscience, Turin, Italy.
University of Turin, Department of Psychology, Turin, Italy; University of Florence, Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications (DiSIA), Florence, Italy.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2025 May;172:106121. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106121. Epub 2025 Mar 24.
The prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in the ageing population emphasises the need for strategies to mitigate cognitive decline. While research on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has focused on early risk factors, less attention has been paid to protective factors such as cognitive reserve (CR) and cognitive control (CC).
This review examines age-related changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in healthy ageing and cognitive impairment. We analysed studies using Stroop and Simon tasks in conjunction with EEG, EEG/ERP, fNIRS and fMRI.
Of the 1411 articles reviewed, 49 studies met our criteria. The results suggest that the Stroop and Simon effects are essential for distinguishing between healthy ageing and cognitive impairment. Increased activity of the PFC supports task performance, especially in cognitive ageing. However, when compensatory mechanisms fail, deficits in Stroop and Simon effects may indicate cognitive impairment and reduced activation of the PFC.
This review emphasises the critical role of CR in attenuating age-related cognitive decline and highlights the importance of the PFC in maintaining CC.
认知障碍和痴呆在老年人群中的患病率凸显了采取减轻认知衰退策略的必要性。虽然对阿尔茨海默病（AD）的研究主要集中在早期风险因素上，但对诸如认知储备（CR）和认知控制（CC）等保护因素的关注较少。
本综述研究了健康老龄化和认知障碍中前额叶皮质（PFC）与年龄相关的变化。我们分析了使用斯特鲁普（Stroop）任务和西蒙（Simon）任务并结合脑电图（EEG）、脑电图/事件相关电位（EEG/ERP）、功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）的研究。
在审查的1411篇文章中，49项研究符合我们的标准。结果表明，斯特鲁普效应和西蒙效应对于区分健康老龄化和认知障碍至关重要。前额叶皮质活动增加有助于任务表现，尤其是在认知老龄化方面。然而，当补偿机制失效时，斯特鲁普效应和西蒙效应的缺陷可能表明存在认知障碍且前额叶皮质激活减少。
本综述强调了认知储备在减轻与年龄相关的认知衰退中的关键作用，并突出了前额叶皮质在维持认知控制方面的重要性。
