Cargando…

Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging

Working memory (WM) is essential for normal cognitive function, but shows marked decline in aging. The importance of selective attention in guiding WM performance is increasingly recognized. Studies so far are inconclusive about the ability to use selective attention during WM in aging. To investiga...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Mok, Robert M., O'Donoghue, M. Clare, Myers, Nicholas E., Drazich, Erin H.S., Nobre, Anna C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Academic Press 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6547047/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30905834
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.033
_version_ 1783423626801840128
author Mok, Robert M.
O'Donoghue, M. Clare
Myers, Nicholas E.
Drazich, Erin H.S.
Nobre, Anna C.
author_facet Mok, Robert M.
O'Donoghue, M. Clare
Myers, Nicholas E.
Drazich, Erin H.S.
Nobre, Anna C.
author_sort Mok, Robert M.
collection PubMed
description Working memory (WM) is essential for normal cognitive function, but shows marked decline in aging. The importance of selective attention in guiding WM performance is increasingly recognized. Studies so far are inconclusive about the ability to use selective attention during WM in aging. To investigate the neural mechanisms supporting selective attention in WM in aging, we tested a large group of older adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging whilst they performed a category-based (faces/houses) selective-WM task. Older adults were able to use attention to encode targets and suppress distractors to reach high levels of task performance. A subsequent, surprise recognition-memory task showed strong consequences of selective attention. Attended items in the relevant category were recognized significantly better than items in the ignored category. Neural measures also showed reliable markers of selective attention during WM. Purported control regions including the dorsolateral and inferior prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex were reliably recruited for attention to both categories. Activation levels in category-sensitive visual cortex showed reliable modulation according to attentional demands, and positively correlated with subsequent memory measures of attention and WM span. Psychophysiological interaction analyses showed that activity in category-sensitive areas were coupled with non-sensory cortex known to be involved in cognitive control and memory processing, including regions in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In summary, we found that older adults were able to recruit a network of brain regions involved in top-down attention during selective WM, and individual differences in attentional control corresponded to the degree of attention-related modulation in the brain.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6547047
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2019
publisher Academic Press
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-65470472019-07-01 Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging Mok, Robert M. O'Donoghue, M. Clare Myers, Nicholas E. Drazich, Erin H.S. Nobre, Anna C. Neuroimage Article Working memory (WM) is essential for normal cognitive function, but shows marked decline in aging. The importance of selective attention in guiding WM performance is increasingly recognized. Studies so far are inconclusive about the ability to use selective attention during WM in aging. To investigate the neural mechanisms supporting selective attention in WM in aging, we tested a large group of older adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging whilst they performed a category-based (faces/houses) selective-WM task. Older adults were able to use attention to encode targets and suppress distractors to reach high levels of task performance. A subsequent, surprise recognition-memory task showed strong consequences of selective attention. Attended items in the relevant category were recognized significantly better than items in the ignored category. Neural measures also showed reliable markers of selective attention during WM. Purported control regions including the dorsolateral and inferior prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex were reliably recruited for attention to both categories. Activation levels in category-sensitive visual cortex showed reliable modulation according to attentional demands, and positively correlated with subsequent memory measures of attention and WM span. Psychophysiological interaction analyses showed that activity in category-sensitive areas were coupled with non-sensory cortex known to be involved in cognitive control and memory processing, including regions in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In summary, we found that older adults were able to recruit a network of brain regions involved in top-down attention during selective WM, and individual differences in attentional control corresponded to the degree of attention-related modulation in the brain. Academic Press 2019-07-01 /pmc/articles/PMC6547047/ /pubmed/30905834 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.033 Text en © 2019 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Mok, Robert M.
O'Donoghue, M. Clare
Myers, Nicholas E.
Drazich, Erin H.S.
Nobre, Anna C.
Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
title Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
title_full Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
title_fullStr Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
title_full_unstemmed Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
title_short Neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
title_sort neural markers of category-based selective working memory in aging
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6547047/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30905834
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.033
work_keys_str_mv AT mokrobertm neuralmarkersofcategorybasedselectiveworkingmemoryinaging
AT odonoghuemclare neuralmarkersofcategorybasedselectiveworkingmemoryinaging
AT myersnicholase neuralmarkersofcategorybasedselectiveworkingmemoryinaging
AT drazicherinhs neuralmarkersofcategorybasedselectiveworkingmemoryinaging
AT nobreannac neuralmarkersofcategorybasedselectiveworkingmemoryinaging