Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults
Brain activity typically increases with increasing working memory (WM) load, regardless of age, before reaching an apparent ceiling. However, older adults exhibit greater brain activity and reach ceiling at lower loads than younger adults, possibly reflecting compensation at lower loads and dysfunct...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2020-08-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920303736 |
| _version_ | 1811335613533650944 |
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| author | Alexandru D. Iordan Katherine A. Cooke Kyle D. Moored Benjamin Katz Martin Buschkuehl Susanne M. Jaeggi Thad A. Polk Scott J. Peltier John Jonides Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz |
| author_facet | Alexandru D. Iordan Katherine A. Cooke Kyle D. Moored Benjamin Katz Martin Buschkuehl Susanne M. Jaeggi Thad A. Polk Scott J. Peltier John Jonides Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz |
| author_sort | Alexandru D. Iordan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Brain activity typically increases with increasing working memory (WM) load, regardless of age, before reaching an apparent ceiling. However, older adults exhibit greater brain activity and reach ceiling at lower loads than younger adults, possibly reflecting compensation at lower loads and dysfunction at higher loads. We hypothesized that WM training would bolster neural efficiency, such that the activation peak would shift towards higher memory loads after training. Pre-training, older adults showed greater recruitment of the WM network than younger adults across all loads, with decline at the highest load. Ten days of adaptive training on a verbal WM task improved performance and led to greater brain responsiveness at higher loads for both groups. For older adults the activation peak shifted rightward towards higher loads. Finally, training increased task-related functional connectivity in older adults, both within the WM network and between this task-positive network and the task-negative/default-mode network. These results provide new evidence for functional plasticity with training in older adults and identify a potential signature of improvement at the neural level. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:26:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b4f839a494c429e80eeb39878a44081 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:26:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b4f839a494c429e80eeb39878a440812022-12-22T02:37:44ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722020-08-01217116887Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adultsAlexandru D. Iordan0Katherine A. Cooke1Kyle D. Moored2Benjamin Katz3Martin Buschkuehl4Susanne M. Jaeggi5Thad A. Polk6Scott J. Peltier7John Jonides8Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz9Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States; Corresponding author. 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States.Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United StatesDepartment of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United StatesDepartment of Human Development and Family Science, Virginia Tech, 295 W Campus Dr, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, United StatesMIND Research Institute, 5281 California Ave., Suite 300, Irvine, CA, 92617, United StatesSchool of Education, University of California, Irvine, 3200 Education Bldg, Irvine, CA, 92697, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United StatesFunctional MRI Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2360 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States; Corresponding author.Brain activity typically increases with increasing working memory (WM) load, regardless of age, before reaching an apparent ceiling. However, older adults exhibit greater brain activity and reach ceiling at lower loads than younger adults, possibly reflecting compensation at lower loads and dysfunction at higher loads. We hypothesized that WM training would bolster neural efficiency, such that the activation peak would shift towards higher memory loads after training. Pre-training, older adults showed greater recruitment of the WM network than younger adults across all loads, with decline at the highest load. Ten days of adaptive training on a verbal WM task improved performance and led to greater brain responsiveness at higher loads for both groups. For older adults the activation peak shifted rightward towards higher loads. Finally, training increased task-related functional connectivity in older adults, both within the WM network and between this task-positive network and the task-negative/default-mode network. These results provide new evidence for functional plasticity with training in older adults and identify a potential signature of improvement at the neural level.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920303736Executive functionsFronto-parietalDefault-modeCognitive trainingAging |
| spellingShingle | Alexandru D. Iordan Katherine A. Cooke Kyle D. Moored Benjamin Katz Martin Buschkuehl Susanne M. Jaeggi Thad A. Polk Scott J. Peltier John Jonides Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults NeuroImage Executive functions Fronto-parietal Default-mode Cognitive training Aging |
| title | Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults |
| title_full | Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults |
| title_fullStr | Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults |
| title_short | Neural correlates of working memory training: Evidence for plasticity in older adults |
| title_sort | neural correlates of working memory training evidence for plasticity in older adults |
| topic | Executive functions Fronto-parietal Default-mode Cognitive training Aging |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920303736 |
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