TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinzel, Stephan
A1  - Lorenz, Robert C.
A1  - Brockhaus, Wolf-Ruediger
A1  - Wuestenberg, Torsten
A1  - Kathmann, Norbert
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
T1  - Working memory load-dependent brain response predicts behavioral training gains in older adults
JF  - The journal of neuroscience
N2  - In the domain of working memory (WM), a sigmoid-shaped relationship between WM load and brain activation patterns has been demonstrated in younger adults. It has been suggested that age-related alterations of this pattern are associated with changes in neural efficiency and capacity. At the same time, WM training studies have shown that some older adults are able to increase their WM performance through training. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back WM task at different WM load levels was applied to compare blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses between younger and older participants and to predict gains in WM performance after a subsequent 12-session WM training procedure in older adults. We show that increased neural efficiency and capacity, as reflected by more "youth-like" brain response patterns in regions of interest of the frontoparietal WM network, were associated with better behavioral training outcome beyond the effects of age, sex, education, gray matter volume, and baseline WM performance. Furthermore, at low difficulty levels, decreases in BOLD response were found after WM training. Results indicate that both neural efficiency (i. e., decreased activation at comparable performance levels) and capacity (i. e., increasing activation with increasing WM load) of a WM-related network predict plasticity of the WM system, whereas WM training may specifically increase neural efficiency in older adults.
KW  - aging
KW  - fMRI
KW  - neuroimaging
KW  - plasticity
KW  - training
KW  - working memory
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2463-13.2014
SN  - 0270-6474
VL  - 34
IS  - 4
SP  - 1224
EP  - 1233
PB  - Society for Neuroscience
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lorenz, Robert C.
A1  - Gleich, Tobias
A1  - Beck, Anne
A1  - Poehland, Lydia
A1  - Raufelder, Diana
A1  - Sommer, Werner
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Kuehn, Simone
A1  - Gallinat, Jürgen
T1  - Reward anticipation in the adolescent and aging brain
JF  - Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging
N2  - Processing of reward is the basis of adaptive behavior of the human being. Neural correlates of reward processing seem to be influenced by developmental changes from adolescence to late adulthood. The aim of this study is to uncover these neural correlates during a slot machine gambling task across the lifespan. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate 102 volunteers in three different age groups: 34 adolescents, 34 younger adults, and 34 older adults. We focused on the core reward areas ventral striatum (VS) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the valence processing associated areas, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, as well as information integration associated areas, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Results showed that VS and VMPFC were characterized by a hyperactivation in adolescents compared with younger adults. Furthermore, the ACC and insula were characterized by a U-shape pattern (hypoactivation in younger adults compared with adolescents and older adults), whereas the DLPFC and IPL were characterized by a J-shaped form (hyperactivation in older adults compared with younger groups). Furthermore, a functional connectivity analysis revealed an elevated negative functional coupling between the inhibition-related area rIFG and VS in younger adults compared with adolescents. Results indicate that lifespan-related changes during reward anticipation are characterized by different trajectories in different reward network modules and support the hypothesis of an imbalance in maturation of striatal and prefrontal cortex in adolescents. Furthermore, these results suggest compensatory age-specific effects in fronto-parietal regions. Hum Brain Mapp 35:5153-5165, 2014. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
KW  - reward anticipation
KW  - lifespan
KW  - aging
KW  - adolescence
KW  - fMRI
KW  - connectivity
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22540
SN  - 1065-9471
SN  - 1097-0193
VL  - 35
IS  - 10
SP  - 5153
EP  - 5165
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -