Broadscale dampening of uncertainty adjustment in the aging brain.

ABSTRACT: The ability to prioritize among input features according to relevance enables adaptive behaviors across the human lifespan. However, relevance often remains ambiguous, and such uncertainty increases demands for dynamic control. While both cognitive stability and flexibility decline during healthy ageing, it is unknown whether aging alters how uncertainty impacts perception and decision-making, and if so, via which neural mechanisms. Here, we assess uncertainty adjustment across the adult lifespan (N = 100; cross-sectional) via behavioral modeling and a theoretically informed set of EEG-, fMRI-, and pupil-based signatures. On the group level, older adults show a broad dampening of uncertainty adjustment relative to younger adults. At the individual level, older individuals whose modulation

SUBMITTER: Kosciessa JQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11666723 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature