Abstract:
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Purpose: To evaluate cortical activation patterns in face- and location-matching tasks in healthy young and elderly subjects.
Methods and Materials: We performed a face- and a location-matching task in 21 healthy subjects: 15 young (mean age=28y) and 6 elderly individuals (mean age=71y). Stimuli were presented on a video screen. Each experiment consisted of 6 blocks alternating between activation and control condition. For face-matching, the subjects had to press a button when two displayed faces were identical. For control condition we used a perception task with nonsense scrambled faces. For location-matching, the subjects had to indicate wether two objects had an identical or different position within two boxes. FMRI was performed on a 1.5 T scanner using an EPI sequence (TR 0.6msec, TE 60msec, pixel-size 3.2 x 3.2 mm, SL: 4mm, 28 axial slices). Each paradigm included 69 frames with an intervall of 3.6 sec. Statistical analysis was performed with FSL.
Results: With face-matching, young subjects exhibited bilateral (right>left) activation of the occipital and fusiform gyrus, the right middle-temporal gyrus and the right inferior- and middle-frontal gyrus. Activation was also found in the anterior cingulate. In elderly subjects we observed additional activation in the left middle-frontal gyrus and increased activity in the anterior cingulate. With location-matching, young subjects presented bilateral (right>left) activation in the superior-parietal lobe and in the right inferior- and middle-frontal gyrus. Less activation was found bilaterally in the occipital gyrus, in the right middle-temporal gyrus and in the anterior cingulate. In elderly individuals no significant difference in comparison with younger subjects was found.
Conclusion: Different activation patterns were found in face- and location-matching tasks. Young and elderly subjects exhibited differences in cortical activation in face-matching. In location-matching no age-dependent changes were observed.
Meindl MD, T,
Age-dependent Human Brain Activity: Differences in Face- and Location-matching Tasks Identified with FMRI. Radiological Society of North America 2003 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 30 - December 5, 2003 ,Chicago IL.
http://archive.rsna.org/2003/3103207.html
