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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.07.15.204941

The Aging Brain and Executive Functions Revisited: Implications from Meta-Analytic and Functional-Connectivity Evidence

Heckner, M. K.·Cieslik, E. C.·Eickhoff, S. B.·Camilleri, J. A.·Hoffstaedter, F.·Langner, R.
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Abstract

Healthy aging is associated with changes in cognitive performance including executive functions (EFs) and their associated brain activation patterns. However, it has remained unclear which EF-related brain regions are affected consistently, because the results of pertinent neuroimaging studies and earlier meta-analyses vary considerably. We, therefore, conducted new rigorous meta-analyses of published age differences in EF-related brain activity. Out of a larger set of regions associated with EFs, only left inferior frontal junction (IFJ) and left anterior cuneus/precuneus (aC/PrC) were found to show consistent age differences. To further characterize these two age-sensitive regions, we performed seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC) analyses using fMRI data from a large adult sample with a wide age range. We also assessed associations of the two regions whole-brain RS-FC patterns with age and EF performance. Although functional profiling and RS-FC analyses point towards a domain-general role of left IFJ in EFs, the pattern of individual study contributions to the meta-analytic results suggests process-specific modulations by age. Our analyses further indicate that left aC/PrC is recruited differently by older (compared to younger) adults during EF tasks, potentially reflecting inefficiencies in switching the attentional focus. Overall, our findings question earlier meta-analytic results and suggest a larger heterogeneity of age-related differences in brain activity associated with EFs. Hence, they encourage future research that pays greater attention to replicability, investigates age-related differences in deactivation, and focuses on more narrowly defined EF subprocesses, combining multiple behavioral assessments with multi-modal imaging. Highlights- Healthy aging is linked to deterioration in executive functions (EFs) - ALE meta-analyses examined consistent age differences in brain activity linked to EFs - In a larger set of EF regions, only left IFJ and (pre)cuneus were sensitive to age - Advanced age was linked to weaker functional coupling within EF-related networks - Our findings question earlier meta-analytic findings

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Heckner, M. K., Cieslik, E. C., Eickhoff, S. B., Camilleri, J. A., Hoffstaedter, F., Langner, R.. 2020-07-17. The Aging Brain and Executive Functions Revisited: Implications from Meta-Analytic and Functional-Connectivity Evidence. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.15.204941

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