scholarly journals Role of the hippocampus during logical reasoning and belief bias in aging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Ziaei ◽  
Mohammad Reza Bonyadi ◽  
David C. Reutens
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Logical Reasoning ◽  
Syllogistic Reasoning ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Correct Rejection ◽  
Reasoning Task ◽  
Cingulum Bundle ◽  
Hippocampal Network ◽  
Reasoning Tasks

AbstractReasoning requires initial encoding of the semantic association between premises or assumptions, retrieval of these semantic associations from memory, and recombination of information to draw a logical conclusion. Currently-held beliefs can interfere with the content of the assumptions if not congruent and inhibited. This study aimed to investigate the role of the hippocampus and hippocampal networks during logical reasoning tasks in which the congruence between currently-held beliefs and assumptions varies. Participants of younger and older age completed a series of syllogistic reasoning tasks in which two premises and one conclusion were presented and they were required to decide if the conclusion logically followed the premises. The belief load of premises was manipulated to be either congruent or incongruent with currently-held beliefs. Our whole-brain results showed that older adults recruited the hippocampus during the premise integration stage more than their younger counterparts. Functional connectivity using a hippocampal seed revealed that older, but not younger, adults recruited a hippocampal network that included anterior cingulate and inferior frontal regions when premises were believable. Importantly, this network contributed to better performance in believable inferences, only in older adults group. Further analyses suggested that, in older adults group, the integrity of the left cingulum bundle was associated with the higher correct rejection of believable premises more than unbelievable ones. Using multimodal imaging, this study highlights the importance of the hippocampus during premise integration and supports the compensatory role of the hippocampal network during a logical reasoning task among older adults.

scholarly journals Age-related differences in structural and functional prefrontal networks during a logical reasoning task

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Ziaei ◽  
Mohammad Reza Bonyadi ◽  
David C. Reutens
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Results ◽  
Logical Reasoning ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Belief Bias ◽  
Reasoning Task ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn logical reasoning, difficulties in inhibition of currently-held beliefs may lead to unwarranted conclusions, known as belief bias. Aging is associated with difficulties in inhibitory control, which may lead to deficits in inhibition of currently-held beliefs. No study to date, however, has investigated the underlying neural substrates of age-related differences in logical reasoning and the impact of belief load. The aim of the present study was to delineate age differences in brain activity during a syllogistic logical reasoning task while the believability load of logical inferences was manipulated. Twenty-nine, healthy, younger and thirty, healthy, older adults (males and females) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment in which they were asked to determine the logical validity of conclusions. Unlike younger adults, older adults engaged a large-scale network including anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during conclusion stage. Our functional connectivity results suggest that while older adults engaged the ACC network to overcome their intuitive responses for believable inferences, the IFG network contributed to higher control over responses during both believable and unbelievable conditions. Our functional results were further supported by structure-function-behavior analyses indicating the importance of cingulum bundle and uncinate fasciculus integrity in rejection of believable statements. These novel findings lend evidence for age-related differences in belief bias, with potentially important implications for decision making where currently-held beliefs and given assumptions are in conflict.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of exceptional memory ability in SuperAgers: A multimodal approach using FDG-PET, PIB-PET, and MRI

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wyllians Vendramini Borelli ◽  
Eduardo Leal-Conceição ◽  
Michele Alberton Andrade ◽  
Nathalia Bianchini Esper ◽  
Paula Kopschina Feltes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Fdg Pet ◽  
Amyloid Deposition ◽  
Cognitive Testing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

AbstractIndividuals at 80 years of age or above with exceptional memory are considered SuperAgers (SA). A multimodal brain analysis of SA may provide biomarkers of successful cognitive aging. Herein, a molecular (PET-FDG, PET-PIB), functional (fMRI) and structural analysis (MRI) of SA was conducted. Ten SA, ten age-matched older adults (C80) and ten cognitively normal middle-aged adults underwent cognitive testing and neuroimaging examinations. The relationship between cognitive scores and cingulate areas and hippocampus were examined. The SA group showed increased FDG SUVr in the left subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex (sACC, p<0.005) as compared to that in the C80 group. Amyloid deposition was similar between SA and C80 in the described regions or overall areas (p>0.05). The SA group also presented decreased connectivity between left sACC and posterior cingulate (p<0.005) as compared to that of C80 group. These results support the key role of ACC in SA, even in the presence of amyloid deposition. It also suggests that sACC can be used as a potential memory biomarker in older adults.AbbreviationsBCa – Bias corrected accelerated: SA – SuperAgers: C50 – Middle-aged controls: C80 – Age-matched controls

Age Advantages of Emotional Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic are Robust, but Diminished Compared to Pre-pandemic Conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Sun ◽  
Disa Sauter
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Selection Strategies ◽  
Scale Test ◽  
Prolonged Stress

Getting old is generally seen as unappealing, yet aging confers considerable advantages in several psychological domains (North &amp; Fiske, 2015). In particular, older adults are better off emotionally than younger adults, with aging associated with the so-called “age advantages,” that is, more positive and less negative emotional experiences (Carstensen et al., 2011). Although the age advantages are well established, it is less clear whether they occur under conditions of prolonged stress. In a recent study, Carstensen et al (2020) demonstrated that the age advantages persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that older adults are able to utilise cognitive and behavioural strategies to ameliorate even sustained stress. Here, we build on Carstensen and colleagues’ work with two studies. In Study 1, we provide a large-scale test of the robustness of Carstensen and colleagues’ finding that older individuals experience more positive and less negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured positive and negative emotions along with age information in 23,629 participants in 63 countries in April-May 2020. In Study 2, we provide a comparison of the age advantages using representative samples collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that older people experience less negative emotion than younger people during the prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the advantage of older adults was diminished during the pandemic, pointing to a likely role of older adults use of situation selection strategies (Charles, 2010).

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