Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain

IntroductionWe investigated the neural correlates of cognitive decline in visual word perception from the perspective of intrinsic brain networks.MethodsA total of 19 healthy older adults and 22 young adults were recruited to participate in two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions (...

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Main Authors: Licheng Xue, Tianying Qing, Yating Lv, Jing Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1483449/full
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author Licheng Xue
Tianying Qing
Yating Lv
Yating Lv
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao
author_facet Licheng Xue
Tianying Qing
Yating Lv
Yating Lv
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao
author_sort Licheng Xue
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionWe investigated the neural correlates of cognitive decline in visual word perception from the perspective of intrinsic brain networks.MethodsA total of 19 healthy older adults and 22 young adults were recruited to participate in two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions (one resting-state session and one for localizer tasks), along with a visual word perceptual processing task. We examined age-related alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) within the word network, as well as between the word network and other networks. We tested their associations with behavioral performance in word and symbol-form processing.ResultsWe found that, compared to young adults, older adults exhibited increased FC between the two word-selective regions in the left and right ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT). Additionally, older adults exhibited increased FC between these two word-selective regions and non-word-selective regions. Notably, these FC alterations correlated with individual differences in behavioral performance in visual word perception.DiscussionThese results suggest that cognitive decline in visual word perception is associated with decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the aging brain. Our findings support the neural dedifferentiation hypothesis for cognitive decline in visual word processing and improve our understanding of interactive neural specialization theory.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1663-4365
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-ddc2c1df677842d2a6ccdf9da7e152c82024-12-05T06:28:40ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652024-12-011610.3389/fnagi.2024.14834491483449Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brainLicheng Xue0Tianying Qing1Yating Lv2Yating Lv3Jing Zhao4Jing Zhao5Jing Zhao6School of Early Childhood Education, Hangzhou Polytechnic, Zhejiang, ChinaHelmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsCenter for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Zhejiang, ChinaZhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Zhejiang, ChinaZhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Zhejiang, ChinaJing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Zhejiang, ChinaZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Zhejiang, ChinaIntroductionWe investigated the neural correlates of cognitive decline in visual word perception from the perspective of intrinsic brain networks.MethodsA total of 19 healthy older adults and 22 young adults were recruited to participate in two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions (one resting-state session and one for localizer tasks), along with a visual word perceptual processing task. We examined age-related alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) within the word network, as well as between the word network and other networks. We tested their associations with behavioral performance in word and symbol-form processing.ResultsWe found that, compared to young adults, older adults exhibited increased FC between the two word-selective regions in the left and right ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT). Additionally, older adults exhibited increased FC between these two word-selective regions and non-word-selective regions. Notably, these FC alterations correlated with individual differences in behavioral performance in visual word perception.DiscussionThese results suggest that cognitive decline in visual word perception is associated with decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the aging brain. Our findings support the neural dedifferentiation hypothesis for cognitive decline in visual word processing and improve our understanding of interactive neural specialization theory.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1483449/fullagingvisual word processingfunctional connectivityresting-state fMRIneural dedifferentiation hypothesis
spellingShingle Licheng Xue
Tianying Qing
Yating Lv
Yating Lv
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao
Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
aging
visual word processing
functional connectivity
resting-state fMRI
neural dedifferentiation hypothesis
title Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
title_full Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
title_fullStr Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
title_full_unstemmed Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
title_short Aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
title_sort aging of visual word perception is related to decreased segregation within and beyond the word network in the brain
topic aging
visual word processing
functional connectivity
resting-state fMRI
neural dedifferentiation hypothesis
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1483449/full
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