Functional role of age-related hemispheric asymmetry reduction and of executive functioning in memory: an ERP approach

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Functional role of age-related hemispheric asymmetry reduction and of executive functioning in memory: an ERP approach Michel L. Isingrini1*, Lucie Angel1, Badiaa Bouazzaoui1 and Severine Fay1 1 University of Tours, France This experiment explored the functional significance of age-related hemispheric asymmetry reduction associated with episodic memory and the cognitive mechanisms that mediate this brain pattern. Parietal old/new effect-event-related potentials were recorded while younger and older adults performed a word stem cued-recall task. We also investigated age differences in lateralization by computing a lateralization index of the parietal old/new effect for each individual, based on left and right hemisphere activation differences. Results confirmed that the parietal old/new effect was of larger latency, of reduced magnitude and less lateralized in the older group than the young group. Correlation analyses indicated that only in the older group memory performance and executive level were reliably related to the lateralization index. The older participants who presented a high level of memory performance and of executive functioning were those with the higher level of hemispheric asymmetry reduction. Moreover, in this group, regression analyses indicated that the degree of laterality of brain activity mediates age-related differences in memory performance. Results of regression analyses are also compatible with a cascade model in which the individual’s level of executive functioning mediates age-related differences in the degree of lateralization of brain activity, which, in turn, mediates age-related differences in memory performance. Overall, our findings support the view that age-related hemispheric asymmetry reduction is beneficial in old age, suggesting compensation mechanisms. They also strongly suggest that cognitive abilities may determine brain reorganization during aging. Keywords: Cognition, EEG Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Neurophysiology of Cognition and Attention Citation: Isingrini ML, Angel L, Bouazzaoui B and Fay S (2011). Functional role of age-related hemispheric asymmetry reduction and of executive functioning in memory: an ERP approach. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00302 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 22 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Michel L Isingrini, University of Tours, Tours, France, isingrini@univ-tours.fr Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Michel L Isingrini Lucie Angel Badiaa Bouazzaoui Severine Fay Google Michel L Isingrini Lucie Angel Badiaa Bouazzaoui Severine Fay Google Scholar Michel L Isingrini Lucie Angel Badiaa Bouazzaoui Severine Fay PubMed Michel L Isingrini Lucie Angel Badiaa Bouazzaoui Severine Fay Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.