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Review
. 2022 Jul 28:13:771885.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.771885. eCollection 2021.

Inhibitory Control in Aging: The Compensation-Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis

Weixi Kang  1 , Junxin Wang  2 , Antonio Malvaso  3
Affiliations
Review

Inhibitory Control in Aging: The Compensation-Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis

Weixi Kang et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

As one of the core executive functions, inhibitory control plays an important role in human life. Inhibitory control refers to the ability to suppress task irrelevant information both internally and externally. Modern cognitive neuroscience has extensively investigated the neural basis of inhibitory control, less is known about the inhibitory control mechanisms in aging. Growing interests in cognitive declines of aging have given raise to the compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis (CRUNCH). In this review, we survey both behavioral, functional, and structural changes relevant to inhibitory control in aging. In line with CRUNCH, we found that older adults engage additional brain regions than younger adults when performing the same cognitive task, to compensate for declining brain structures and functions. Moreover, we propose CRUNCH could well take functional inhibitory deficits in older adults into account. Finally, we provide three sensible future research directions.

Keywords: CRUNCH; aging; cognitive aging; cognitive decline; compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis; inhibitory control.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Common regions activated in subprocesses of inhibition (i.e., interference resolution, action withholding, and action cancelation). IFG.R, right inferior frontal gyrus; MCG.R, right median cingulate and paracingulate gyri. Adopted from Zhang et al. (2017) under CC-BY.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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