Striking a chord with healthy aging: memory system cooperation is related to preserved configural response learning in older adults.

ABSTRACT: Evidence from tasks that primarily tap either hippocampal- or striatal-based memory systems suggests that although these systems often compete for control of behavior, aging is associated with greater cooperation between them. This may stem from altered prefrontal cortex function. Here, we use a configural response task designed to engage both memory systems to test how age affects their interaction with cortical regions including the prefrontal cortex. We found that although older and younger adults learned just as well, older adults showed greater initial activation in cortical networks associated with visuospatial-action mapping and resolving conflict for competing memory representations. Older adults also showed greater functional coupling of the striatum with the left inferior frontal

SUBMITTER: Voss MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7814217 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature