Age-related decline in differentiated neural responses to rare target versus frequent standard stimuli

Abstract One mechanism hypothesized to contribute to cognitive aging is the failure to recruit specialized neural modules and generate differentiated neural responses to various classes of stimuli. Here, ERPs were used to examine the extent to which target and standard stimulus types were processed...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain research 2014-10, Vol.1587, p.97-111
Main Authors: Mott, Katherine K, Alperin, Brittany R, Holcomb, Phillip J, Daffner, Kirk R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - physiology
Aging - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognitive aging
Color Perception - physiology
Compensatory activity
Cues
Dedifferentiation
ERPs
Event-Related Potentials, P300 - physiology
Executive Function - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neurology
P3b
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Space Perception - physiology
Spatial Behavior - physiology
Temporospatial PCA
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract One mechanism hypothesized to contribute to cognitive aging is the failure to recruit specialized neural modules and generate differentiated neural responses to various classes of stimuli. Here, ERPs were used to examine the extent to which target and standard stimulus types were processed differently by well-matched adults ages 19–99. Subjects responded to designated visual target letters under low and high load conditions. Temporospatial PCA was used to parse the P3b component, an index of categorization/memory updating. The P3b amplitude difference between targets and standards decreased substantially as a function of age. Dedifferentiation began in middle age, and continued into old–old age. The reduced differentiation of neural responses was driven by an age-related decline in the size of the P3b to targets and an age-related increase in the P3b to standards. Larger P3b amplitude to standards among older subjects was associated with higher executive capacity and better task performance. In summary, dedifferentiation begins relatively early in adulthood and progresses in a linear fashion throughout the lifespan. The age-related augmentation of the P3b to standards appears to reflect a compensatory mechanism that helps maintain task performance.
ISSN:0006-8993
1872-6240
DOI:10.1016/j.brainres.2014.08.057