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. 2015:2015:415458.
doi: 10.1155/2015/415458. Epub 2015 Oct 8.

Trying to Put the Puzzle Together: Age and Performance Level Modulate the Neural Response to Increasing Task Load within Left Rostral Prefrontal Cortex

Eva Bauer  1 , Gebhard Sammer  2 , Max Toepper  3
Affiliations

Trying to Put the Puzzle Together: Age and Performance Level Modulate the Neural Response to Increasing Task Load within Left Rostral Prefrontal Cortex

Eva Bauer et al. Biomed Res Int. 2015.

Abstract

Age-related working memory decline is associated with functional cerebral changes within prefrontal cortex (PFC). Kind and meaning of these changes are heavily discussed since they depend on performance level and task load. Hence, we investigated the effects of age, performance level, and load on spatial working memory retrieval-related brain activation in different subregions of the PFC. 19 younger (Y) and 21 older (O) adults who were further subdivided into high performers (HP) and low performers (LP) performed a modified version of the Corsi Block-Tapping test during fMRI. Brain data was analyzed by a 4 (groups: YHP, OHP, YLP, and OLP) × 3 (load levels: loads 4, 5, and 6) ANOVA. Results revealed significant group × load interaction effects within rostral dorsolateral and ventrolateral PFC. YHP showed a flexible neural upregulation with increasing load, whereas YLP reached a resource ceiling at a moderate load level. OHP showed a similar (though less intense) pattern as YHP and may have compensated age-effects at high task load. OLP showed neural inefficiency at low and no upregulation at higher load. Our findings highlight the relevance of age and performance level for load-dependent activation within rostral PFC. Results are discussed in the context of the compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis (CRUNCH) and functional PFC organization.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Exemplary illustration of the experimental design for load level 4. CBT = Corsi Block-Tapping test, ISI = interstimulus interval.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of CBT errors for each group and load level separately (displayed together with standard errors of the means). YHP = younger high performers; YLP = younger low performers; OHP = older high performers; OLP = older low performers.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Main effect of load (whole-brain analysis with a threshold of Z ≥ 3.1).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Contrast estimates with the respective standard errors for the identified regions associated with a group × load interaction. Signal change is plotted for younger high performers (YHP), younger low performers (YLP), older high performers (OHP), and older low performers (OLP) for the three load levels separately.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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