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A steady state visually evoked potential investigation of memory and ageing
journal contribution
posted on 2009-04-01, 00:00 authored by Helen MacphersonHelen Macpherson, A Pipingas, R SilbersteinOld age is generally accompanied by a decline in memory performance. Specifically, neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies have revealed that there are age-related changes in the neural correlates of episodic and working memory. This study investigated age-associated changes in the steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) amplitude and latency associated with memory performance. Participants were 15 older (59-67 years) and 14 younger (20-30 years) adults who performed an object working memory (OWM) task and a contextual recognition memory (CRM) task, whilst the SSVEP was recorded from 64 electrode sites. Retention of a single object in the low demand OWM task was characterised by smaller frontal SSVEP amplitude and latency differences in older adults than in younger adults, indicative of an age-associated reduction in neural processes. Recognition of visual images in the more difficult CRM task was accompanied by larger, more sustained SSVEP amplitude and latency decreases over temporal parietal regions in older adults. In contrast, the more transient, frontally mediated pattern of activity demonstrated by younger adults suggests that younger and older adults utilize different neural resources to perform recognition judgements. The results provide support for compensatory processes in the aging brain; at lower task demands, older adults demonstrate reduced neural activity, whereas at greater task demands neural activity is increased.
History
Journal
Brain and cognitionVolume
69Issue
3Pagination
571 - 579Publisher
ElsevierLocation
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPublisher DOI
eISSN
1090-2147Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2009, Crown CopyrightUsage metrics
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Categories
Keywords
ageingcontextual recognitionepisodic memorySSVEPworking memoryScience & TechnologySocial SciencesLife Sciences & BiomedicineNeurosciencesPsychology, ExperimentalNeurosciences & NeurologyPsychologyAGE-RELATED-CHANGESEVENT-RELATED POTENTIALSWORKING-MEMORYRECOGNITION MEMORYHEMISPHERIC-ASYMMETRYFUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMYEPISODIC RETRIEVALPREFRONTAL CORTEXOBJECT IDENTITYBRAIN ACTIVITY