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Almdahl IS, Martinussen LJ, Agartz I, Hugdahl K, Korsnes MS. Inhibition of emotions in healthy aging: age-related differences in brain network connectivity. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e02052. [PMID: 33543596 PMCID: PMC8119855 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Successful inhibition of distracting emotions is important for preserving well-being and daily functioning. There is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of healthy aging on emotional inhibition, and possible age-related alterations in the neuronal underpinnings of emotional interference processing are unexplored. METHODS Thirty younger (mean age 26 years; 15 women) and 30 older (mean age 71 years; 13 women) healthy adults performed a face-word emotional Stroop task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. A resting-state scan was acquired for calculating the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations as an estimate of vascular reactivity. Comparisons of brain activation during the task were assessed in a whole-brain, voxel-wise analysis, contrasting congruent, and incongruent conditions. The canonical regions of the frontoparietal, salience, dorsal attention, and default mode networks were used as seed regions for assessing functional connectivity within and between large-scale brain networks. Task performance was evaluated using response accuracy and response time. RESULTS The older adults had longer response times and lower task accuracy than the younger adults, but the emotional interference effect was not significantly different between the groups. Whole-brain analysis revealed no significant age-related differences in brain activation patterns. Rescaling the data for estimated variability in vascular reactivity did not affect the results. In older adults, there was relatively stronger functional connectivity with the default mode network, the sensorimotor network, and the dorsal attention network for the frontoparietal and salience network seeds during the task. Conversely, younger adults had relatively stronger connections within and between the frontoparietal and salience networks. CONCLUSION In this first fMRI study of emotional Stroop interference in older and younger adults, we found that the emotional interference effect was unchanged in healthy aging and replicated the finding from non-emotional task studies that older adults have greater between-network and less within-network connectivity compared to younger adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ina S Almdahl
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Liva J Martinussen
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ingrid Agartz
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatric Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kenneth Hugdahl
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.,Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.,Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Maria S Korsnes
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Mikos A, Malagurski B, Liem F, Mérillat S, Jäncke L. Object-Location Memory Training in Older Adults Leads to Greater Deactivation of the Dorsal Default Mode Network. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:623766. [PMID: 33716693 PMCID: PMC7952529 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.623766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Substantial evidence indicates that cognitive training can be efficacious for older adults, but findings regarding training-related brain plasticity have been mixed and vary depending on the imaging modality. Recent years have seen a growth in recognition of the importance of large-scale brain networks on cognition. In particular, task-induced deactivation within the default mode network (DMN) is thought to facilitate externally directed cognition, while aging-related decrements in this neural process are related to reduced cognitive performance. It is not yet clear whether task-induced deactivation within the DMN can be enhanced by cognitive training in the elderly. We previously reported durable cognitive improvements in a sample of healthy older adults (age range = 60-75) who completed 6 weeks of process-based object-location memory training (N = 36) compared to an active control training group (N = 31). The primary aim of the current study is to evaluate whether these cognitive gains are accompanied by training-related changes in task-related DMN deactivation. Given the evidence for heterogeneity of the DMN, we examine task-related activation/deactivation within two separate DMN branches, a ventral branch related to episodic memory and a dorsal branch more closely resembling the canonical DMN. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an untrained object-location memory task at four time points before, during, and after the training period. Task-induced (de)activation values were extracted for the ventral and dorsal DMN branches at each time point. Relative to visual fixation baseline: (i) the dorsal DMN was deactivated during the scanner task, while the ventral DMN was activated; (ii) the object-location memory training group exhibited an increase in dorsal DMN deactivation relative to the active control group over the course of training and follow-up; (iii) changes in dorsal DMN deactivation did not correlate with task improvement. These results indicate a training-related enhancement of task-induced deactivation of the dorsal DMN, although the specificity of this improvement to the cognitive task performed in the scanner is not clear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ania Mikos
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brigitta Malagurski
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Franziskus Liem
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susan Mérillat
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Division of Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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3
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McDonough IM, Letang SK, Erwin HB, Kana RK. Evidence for Maintained Post-Encoding Memory Consolidation Across the Adult Lifespan Revealed by Network Complexity. ENTROPY 2019. [PMCID: PMC7514376 DOI: 10.3390/e21111072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Memory consolidation is well known to occur during sleep, but might start immediately after encoding new information while awake. While consolidation processes are important across the lifespan, they may be even more important to maintain memory functioning in old age. We tested whether a novel measure of information processing known as network complexity might be sensitive to post-encoding consolidation mechanisms in a sample of young, middle-aged, and older adults. Network complexity was calculated by assessing the irregularity of brain signals within a network over time using multiscale entropy. To capture post-encoding mechanisms, network complexity was estimated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during rest before and after encoding of picture pairs, and subtracted between the two rest periods. Participants received a five-alternative-choice memory test to assess associative memory performance. Results indicated that aging was associated with an increase in network complexity from pre- to post-encoding in the default mode network (DMN). Increases in network complexity in the DMN also were associated with better subsequent memory across all age groups. These findings suggest that network complexity is sensitive to post-encoding consolidation mechanisms that enhance memory performance. These post-encoding mechanisms may represent a pathway to support memory performance in the face of overall memory declines.
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Irish M, Goldberg ZL, Alaeddin S, O'Callaghan C, Andrews-Hanna JR. Age-related changes in the temporal focus and self-referential content of spontaneous cognition during periods of low cognitive demand. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2018; 83:747-760. [PMID: 30291418 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-018-1102-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
An intriguing aspect of human cognition is the unique capacity to mentally retreat from our immediate surroundings to consider perspectives distinct from the here and now. Despite increasing interest in this phenomenon, relatively little is known regarding age-related changes in off-task, self-generated thought (often referred to as "mind-wandering"), particularly under conditions of low cognitive demand. While a number of studies have investigated the temporal orientation of mind-wandering with increasing age, findings have been largely inconsistent. Here, we explored the frequency, temporal focus, and self-referential/social content of spontaneous task-unrelated, perceptually decoupled thought in 30 young and 33 healthy older adults using the Shape Expectations task, a validated experimental paradigm in which discrete facets of inner mentation are quantified along a conceptual continuum using open-ended report. Participants also completed the daydreaming subscale of the Imaginal Process Inventory (IPI) as a trait measure of mind-wandering propensity. Significant group differences emerged on the Shape Expectations task, with reduced instances of mind-wandering in the context of elevated task-related thoughts relative to younger adults. In terms of temporal focus, a preponderance of present/atemporal off-task thoughts was evident irrespective of group; however, significantly higher levels of future-oriented thoughts were provided by younger adults, contrasting with significantly higher instances of retrospection in the older group. In addition, older adults displayed significantly fewer incidences of self-referential cognition relative to their younger counterparts. Our findings indicate a distinct attenuation of off-task, self-generated thought processes with increasing age, with evidence for a shift in temporal focus and self-referential quality, during periods of low cognitive demand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muireann Irish
- Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia. .,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Zoë-Lee Goldberg
- Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia
| | - Sara Alaeddin
- Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia
| | - Claire O'Callaghan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Brain and Mind Centre and School of Medicine, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, Australia
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Ezaki T, Sakaki M, Watanabe T, Masuda N. Age-related changes in the ease of dynamical transitions in human brain activity. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:2673-2688. [PMID: 29524289 PMCID: PMC6619404 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2017] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Executive functions, a set of cognitive processes that enable flexible behavioral control, are known to decay with aging. Because such complex mental functions are considered to rely on the dynamic coordination of functionally different neural systems, the age-related decline in executive functions should be underpinned by alteration of large-scale neural dynamics. However, the effects of age on brain dynamics have not been firmly formulated. Here, we investigate such age-related changes in brain dynamics by applying "energy landscape analysis" to publicly available functional magnetic resonance imaging data from healthy younger and older human adults. We quantified the ease of dynamical transitions between different major patterns of brain activity, and estimated it for the default mode network (DMN) and the cingulo-opercular network (CON) separately. We found that the two age groups shared qualitatively the same trajectories of brain dynamics in both the DMN and CON. However, in both of networks, the ease of transitions was significantly smaller in the older than the younger group. Moreover, the ease of transitions was associated with the performance in executive function tasks in a doubly dissociated manner: for the younger adults, the ability of executive functions was mainly correlated with the ease of transitions in the CON, whereas that for the older adults was specifically associated with the ease of transitions in the DMN. These results provide direct biological evidence for age-related changes in macroscopic brain dynamics and suggest that such neural dynamics play key roles when individuals carry out cognitively demanding tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Ezaki
- PRESTO, JST, 4‐1‐8 HonchoKawaguchiSaitamaJapan
- National Institute of Informatics, HitotsubashiChiyoda‐kuTokyoJapan
- Kawarabayashi Large Graph Project, ERARO, JST, c/o Global Research Center for Big Data Mathematics, NIIChiyoda‐kuTokyoJapan
| | - Michiko Sakaki
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language SciencesUniversity of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights RoadReadingUnited Kingdom
- Research Institute, Kochi University of TechnologyKamiKochiJapan
| | - Takamitsu Watanabe
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen SquareLondonWC1N 3AZUnited Kingdom
| | - Naoki Masuda
- Department of Engineering MathematicsUniversity of BristolCliftonBristolUnited Kingdom
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6
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Froehlich E, Liebig J, Morawetz C, Ziegler JC, Braun M, Heekeren HR, Jacobs AM. Same Same But Different: Processing Words in the Aging Brain. Neuroscience 2017; 371:75-95. [PMID: 29199068 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.11.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2017] [Revised: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Reading is not only one of the most appreciated leisure activities of the elderly but it clearly helps older people to maintain functional independence, which has a significant impact on life quality. Yet, very little is known about how aging affects the neural circuits of the processes that underlie skilled reading. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to systematically investigate the neural correlates of sublexical, orthographic, phonological and lexico-semantic processing in the aging brain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we recorded brain activity of younger (N = 20; 22-35 years) and older (N = 38; 65-76 years) adults during letter identification, lexical decision, phonological decision and semantic categorization. Older and younger adults recruited an identical set of reading-related brain regions suggesting that the general architecture of the reading network is preserved across the lifespan. However, we also observed age-related differences in brain activity in the subcomponents of the reading network. Age-related differences were most prominent during phonological and orthographic processing possibly due to a failure of older adults to inhibit non-optimal reading strategies. Neural effects of aging were also observed outside reading-related circuits, especially in frontal midline regions. These regions might be involved because of their important role in memory, attention and executive control functions and their potential role in resting-state networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Froehlich
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Johanna Liebig
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Carmen Morawetz
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Johannes C Ziegler
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC, 3, place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 1, France.
| | - Mario Braun
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Universität Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Hauke R Heekeren
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Arthur M Jacobs
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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7
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Boujut A, Clarys D. Remembering – but not knowing – disturbs the relational bindings newly established in short-term/working memory: an age-group comparison. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2017; 25:783-802. [DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2017.1373740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Boujut
- UMR-CNRS 7295 « Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l’Apprentissage », Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - David Clarys
- UMR-CNRS 7295 « Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l’Apprentissage », Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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8
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Inter-subject Functional Correlation Reveal a Hierarchical Organization of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Systems in the Brain. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10876. [PMID: 28883508 PMCID: PMC5589774 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11324-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain is constantly monitoring and integrating both cues from the external world and signals generated intrinsically. These extrinsically and intrinsically-driven neural processes are thought to engage anatomically distinct regions, which are thought to constitute the extrinsic and intrinsic systems of the brain. While the specialization of extrinsic and intrinsic system is evident in primary and secondary sensory cortices, a systematic mapping of the whole brain remains elusive. Here, we characterized the extrinsic and intrinsic functional activities in the brain during naturalistic movie-viewing. Using a novel inter-subject functional correlation (ISFC) analysis, we found that the strength of ISFC shifts along the hierarchical organization of the brain. Primary sensory cortices appear to have strong inter-subject functional correlation, consistent with their role in processing exogenous information, while heteromodal regions that attend to endogenous processes have low inter-subject functional correlation. Those brain systems with higher intrinsic tendency show greater inter-individual variability, likely reflecting the aspects of brain connectivity architecture unique to individuals. Our study presents a novel framework for dissecting extrinsically- and intrinsically-driven processes, as well as examining individual differences in brain function during naturalistic stimulation.
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9
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Gyurkovics M, Balota DA, Jackson JD. Mind-wandering in healthy aging and early stage Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychology 2017. [PMID: 28627905 DOI: 10.1037/neu0000385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The frequency of mind-wandering (MW) decreases as a function of age in healthy individuals. One possible explanation is that MW is a resource-dependent process, and cognitive resources decline with age. The present study provides the first investigation of MW in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to further examine the resource model and discontinuities between healthy aging and AD. METHOD Three large cohorts completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART): a healthy middle-aged group (mean age = 61.79 ± 5.84 years; N = 270), a healthy older adult group (mean age = 76.58 ± 5.27 years; N = 282), and a group with early stage AD (mean age = 76.08 ± 7.17; N = 77), comparable in age to the second group. RESULTS Self-reports of MW during the SART decreased as a function of age, and there was a further decrease in the AD group. All 3 groups produced faster responses on trials before No-Go errors, suggesting MW occurred in all cohorts. After No-Go errors, healthy older adults slowed disproportionately compared with middle-aged adults. This was not evident in AD individuals who showed posterror slowing comparable with that in the middle-aged group. CONCLUSIONS The decreased self-reported MW in older adults and the further decline in AD are consistent with the cognitive resource account of MW. Behavioral indices suggest that AD is on a continuum with healthy aging, with the exception of posterror slowing that may suggest performance monitoring deficits in early AD individuals (e.g., lack of error awareness). (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David A Balota
- Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis
| | - Jonathan D Jackson
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
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Spontaneous default network activity reflects behavioral variability independent of mind-wandering. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:13899-13904. [PMID: 27856733 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1611743113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain's default mode network (DMN) is highly active during wakeful rest when people are not overtly engaged with a sensory stimulus or externally oriented task. In multiple contexts, increased spontaneous DMN activity has been associated with self-reported episodes of mind-wandering, or thoughts that are unrelated to the present sensory environment. Mind-wandering characterizes much of waking life and is often associated with error-prone, variable behavior. However, increased spontaneous DMN activity has also been reliably associated with stable, rather than variable, behavior. We aimed to address this seeming contradiction and to test the hypothesis that single measures of attentional states, either based on self-report or on behavior, are alone insufficient to account for DMN activity fluctuations. Thus, we simultaneously measured varying levels of self-reported mind-wandering, behavioral variability, and brain activity with fMRI during a unique continuous performance task optimized for detecting attentional fluctuations. We found that even though mind-wandering co-occurred with increased behavioral variability, highest DMN signal levels were best explained by intense mind-wandering combined with stable behavior simultaneously, compared with considering either single factor alone. These brain-behavior-experience relationships were highly consistent within known DMN subsystems and across DMN subregions. In contrast, such relationships were absent or in the opposite direction for other attention-relevant networks (salience, dorsal attention, and frontoparietal control networks). Our results suggest that the cognitive processes that spontaneous DMN activity specifically reflects are only partially related to mind-wandering and include also attentional state fluctuations that are not captured by self-report.
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11
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Campbell KL, Schacter DL. Aging and the Resting State: Is Cognition Obsolete? LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND NEUROSCIENCE 2016; 32:661-668. [PMID: 28626776 PMCID: PMC5469409 DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2016.1227858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Recent years have seen the rise in popularity of the resting state approach to neurocognitive aging, with many studies examining age differences in functional connectivity at rest and relating these differences to cognitive performance outside the scanner. There are many advantages to the resting state that likely contribute to its popularity and indeed, many insights have been gained from this work. However, there are also several limitations of the resting state approach that restrict its ability to contribute to the study of neurocognitive aging. In this opinion piece, we consider some of those limitations and argue that task-based studies are still essential to developing a mechanistic understanding of how age affects the brain in a cognitively relevant manner - a fundamental goal of neuroscientific research into aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L. Campbell
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - Daniel L. Schacter
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
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