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Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

PURPOSE: Cognitive processing generally deteriorates as people age. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in human-specific behavior, such as preparing for future actions and prospective memory; hence, the PFC may be voluntarily activated even during the...

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Autores principales: Oboshi, Yumi, Kikuchi, Mitsuru, Shimizu, Yoshiyuki, Yoshimura, Yuko, Hiraishi, Hirotoshi, Okada, Hiroyuki, Magata, Yasuhiro, Ouchi, Yasuomi
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4045856/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24897305
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098779
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author Oboshi, Yumi
Kikuchi, Mitsuru
Shimizu, Yoshiyuki
Yoshimura, Yuko
Hiraishi, Hirotoshi
Okada, Hiroyuki
Magata, Yasuhiro
Ouchi, Yasuomi
author_facet Oboshi, Yumi
Kikuchi, Mitsuru
Shimizu, Yoshiyuki
Yoshimura, Yuko
Hiraishi, Hirotoshi
Okada, Hiroyuki
Magata, Yasuhiro
Ouchi, Yasuomi
author_sort Oboshi, Yumi
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: Cognitive processing generally deteriorates as people age. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in human-specific behavior, such as preparing for future actions and prospective memory; hence, the PFC may be voluntarily activated even during the “resting” condition that precedes task execution. The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes in voluntary pre-task activation as a result of aging using a paradigm that includes a longer intertrial interval (e.g., 30 sec) than has been used in previous studies. METHODS: A total of 120 cognitively normal adults (young: 60, old: 60) participated in this near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study. All subjects performed 6 repetitions of the working memory task, which included a 30 sec resting period and a 28.8 sec task period. The resting period was divided into baseline and pre-task (preT) periods, and the task period was divided into early easy task (eT) and late difficult task (dT) periods. We then normalized the data, analyzed the magnitude of task-related NIRS responses in each period and compared the results between groups using an analysis of variance test. RESULTS: Statistical analyses revealed a significant interaction between group × optode location × period, in which hemodynamic responses in the PFC during the preT period were smaller in the elderly in than young adults. By contrast, during the task period, the hemodynamic responses were higher in the lateral PFC in the elderly than in young adults. Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between hemodynamic changes during the preT period in the PFC and correct answer ratios in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that more pre-task activation in the anterior PFC is related to better cognitive performance in humans. Thus, a reduction in this activation might partly explain cognitive decline in the elderly.
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spelling pubmed-40458562014-06-09 Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study Oboshi, Yumi Kikuchi, Mitsuru Shimizu, Yoshiyuki Yoshimura, Yuko Hiraishi, Hirotoshi Okada, Hiroyuki Magata, Yasuhiro Ouchi, Yasuomi PLoS One Research Article PURPOSE: Cognitive processing generally deteriorates as people age. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in human-specific behavior, such as preparing for future actions and prospective memory; hence, the PFC may be voluntarily activated even during the “resting” condition that precedes task execution. The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes in voluntary pre-task activation as a result of aging using a paradigm that includes a longer intertrial interval (e.g., 30 sec) than has been used in previous studies. METHODS: A total of 120 cognitively normal adults (young: 60, old: 60) participated in this near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study. All subjects performed 6 repetitions of the working memory task, which included a 30 sec resting period and a 28.8 sec task period. The resting period was divided into baseline and pre-task (preT) periods, and the task period was divided into early easy task (eT) and late difficult task (dT) periods. We then normalized the data, analyzed the magnitude of task-related NIRS responses in each period and compared the results between groups using an analysis of variance test. RESULTS: Statistical analyses revealed a significant interaction between group × optode location × period, in which hemodynamic responses in the PFC during the preT period were smaller in the elderly in than young adults. By contrast, during the task period, the hemodynamic responses were higher in the lateral PFC in the elderly than in young adults. Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between hemodynamic changes during the preT period in the PFC and correct answer ratios in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that more pre-task activation in the anterior PFC is related to better cognitive performance in humans. Thus, a reduction in this activation might partly explain cognitive decline in the elderly. Public Library of Science 2014-06-04 /pmc/articles/PMC4045856/ /pubmed/24897305 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098779 Text en © 2014 Oboshi et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Oboshi, Yumi
Kikuchi, Mitsuru
Shimizu, Yoshiyuki
Yoshimura, Yuko
Hiraishi, Hirotoshi
Okada, Hiroyuki
Magata, Yasuhiro
Ouchi, Yasuomi
Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
title Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
title_full Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
title_fullStr Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
title_full_unstemmed Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
title_short Pre-Task Prefrontal Activation during Cognitive Processes in Aging: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
title_sort pre-task prefrontal activation during cognitive processes in aging: a near-infrared spectroscopy study
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4045856/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24897305
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098779
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