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Top-down suppression deficit underlies working memory impairment in normal aging

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 December 2005

Abstract

In this study, we assess the impact of normal aging on top-down modulation, a cognitive control mechanism that supports both attention and memory by the suppression and enhancement of sensory processing in accordance with task goals. Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), we show that healthy older adults demonstrated a prominent deficit in the suppression of cortical activity associated with task-irrelevant representations, whereas enhancement of task-relevant activity was preserved. Moreover, this suppression-specific attention deficit correlated with impaired working memory performance.

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Figure 1: Experimental framework.
Figure 2: fMRI data showing a selective deficit of top-down suppression in older adults.
Figure 3: Relationship of suppression deficit and working memory deficit in aging.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the US National Institutes of Health and the American Federation of Aging Research (A.G.) and the NIH (M.D.). We thank D. Pino for helpful discussions and J. Hoffman and A. Rutman for assistance with neuropsychological testing.

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Author notes

  1. Adam Gazzaley

    Present address: University of California San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, Room 102C, San Francisco, California, 94143-2512, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute & Department of Psychology, Henry H. Wheeler, Jr. Brain Imaging Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Adam Gazzaley, Jeffrey W Cooney, Jesse Rissman & Mark D'Esposito

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  1. Adam Gazzaley
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  2. Jeffrey W Cooney
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  3. Jesse Rissman
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  4. Mark D'Esposito
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Correspondence to Adam Gazzaley.

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Gazzaley, A., Cooney, J., Rissman, J. et al. Top-down suppression deficit underlies working memory impairment in normal aging. Nat Neurosci 8, 1298–1300 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1543

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