Dysfunctional Default Mode Network during high speed discrimination in the elderly. Neuropsychological and driving simulator correlations.
Luis Eudave
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Population | Young and elderly adults |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | Age-related decline in speed discrimination is linked to reduced default mode network modulation and compensatory over-recruitment of frontal, basal ganglia, and cerebellar regions, with loss of correlation between DMN modulation and cognitive/driving performance in older adults. |
Abstract
Numerous daily tasks, including car driving, require fine visuospatial tuning. Onesuch visuospatial ability, speed discrimination, declines with aging but its neuralunderpinnings remain unknown. In this study, we use fMRI to explore the effect ofaging during a high speed discrimination task, along with a completeneuropsychological assessment and a simulated driving evaluation in order toexamine how they interact with each other. Beyond confirming that high speeddiscrimination performance is dimished in the elderly, we found that this deficit mightbe partly due to a lack of modulation in the activity and connectivity of the defaultmode network (DMN) in this age group, as well as an over-recruitment of frontal,basal ganglia and cerebellar regions, possibly as a compensatory mecanism. Thisneural pattern could also be translated to our participants’ cognitive and drivingsimulator performance, such that in young adults, a proper DMN modulationcorrelated with better neuropsychological scores and a driving profile, an effect thatseems to be lost in the elderly. These findings contribute to highlight the role of thedefault mode network on visuospatial tasks, how it is age-related and its impact on cognitive functioning and driving performance in a simulator.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |