Dataset Information

Hippocampal activity during the transverse patterning task declines with cognitive competence but not with age.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The hippocampus is a brain region that is particularly affected by age-related morphological changes. It is generally assumed that a loss in hippocampal volume results in functional deficits that contribute to age-related cognitive decline. In a combined cross-sectional behavioural and magnetoencephalography (MEG) study we investigated whether hippocampal-associated neural current flow during a transverse patterning task - which requires learning relational associations between stimuli - correlates with age and whether it is modulated by cognitive competence.

Results

Better performance in several tests of verbal memory, verbal fluency and executive function was indeed associated with higher hippocampal neural activity. Age, however, was not related to the strength of hippocampal neural activity: elderly participants responded slower than younger individuals but on average produced the same neural mass activity.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that in non-pathological aging, hippocampal neural activity does not decrease with age but is rather related to cognitive competence.

SUBMITTER: Leirer VM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2944355 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Hippocampal activity during the transverse patterning task declines with cognitive competence but not with age.

Leirer Vera M VM Wienbruch Christian C Paul-Jordanov Isabella I Kolassa Stephan S Elbert Thomas T Kolassa Iris T IT

BMC neuroscience 20100908

<h4>Background</h4>The hippocampus is a brain region that is particularly affected by age-related morphological changes. It is generally assumed that a loss in hippocampal volume results in functional deficits that contribute to age-related cognitive decline. In a combined cross-sectional behavioural and magnetoencephalography (MEG) study we investigated whether hippocampal-associated neural current flow during a transverse patterning task - which requires learning relational associations betwee ...[more]

PMID: 20825663

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Dataset Information

Hippocampal activity during the transverse patterning task declines with cognitive competence but not with age.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Hippocampal activity during the transverse patterning task declines with cognitive competence but not with age.

Similar Datasets

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