Differences in the functional neuroanatomy of inhibitory control across the adult life span. Psychol Aging 2002 Mar;17(1):56-71
Date
04/05/2002Pubmed ID
11931287DOI
10.1037//0882-7974.17.1.56Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0036127267 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 318 CitationsAbstract
Inhibitory control, the ability to suppress irrelevant or interfering stimuli, is a fundamental cognitive function that deteriorates during aging, but little is understood about the bases of decline. Thus, we used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study inhibitory control in healthy adults aged 18 to 78. Activation during "successful inhibition" occurred predominantly in right prefrontal and parietal regions and was more extensive, bilaterally and prefrontally, in the older groups. Presupplementary motor area was also more active in poorer inhibitory performers. Therefore, older adults activate areas that are comparable to those activated by young adults during inhibition, as well as additional regions. The results are consistent with a compensatory interpretation and extend the aging neuroimaging literature into the cognitive domain of inhibition.
Author List
Nielson KA, Langenecker SA, Garavan HAuthor
Kristy Nielson PhD Professor in the Psychology department at Marquette UniversityMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Aging
Attention
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex
Dominance, Cerebral
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Neural Inhibition
Parietal Lobe
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Prefrontal Cortex
Psychomotor Performance
Reaction Time
Reference Values
