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Age-related differences in medial prefrontal activation in response to emotional images

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience volume 8, pages 153–164 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Research has suggested that aging results in a “positivity effect,” with young adults dwelling on negative information, and older adults attending to positive information. In order to understand age-related changes in emotional processing underlying this effect, the present fMRI study compared neural activity in young and older adults as they viewed positive, negative, and neutral images. Results indicated a striking age-related reversal in the valence of information eliciting activity within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Negative in comparison with positive images activated the VMPFC more for young adults, whereas positive in comparison with negative images activated the VMPFC more for the older adults. The VMPFC is a region associated with the processing of emotional information, and more specifically, with emotion generation and emotion regulation. Therefore, the present results suggest that age-related changes in these processes implemented by the VMPFC contribute to older adults’ “positivity effect.”

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  1. Department of Psychology, Boston College, McGuinn Hall, Room 512, 140 Commonwealth Ave., 02467, Chestnut Hill, MA

    Christina M. Leclerc & Elizabeth A. Kensinger

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  1. Christina M. Leclerc
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  2. Elizabeth A. Kensinger
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Correspondence to Christina M. Leclerc.

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This research was supported by Grant BCS 0542694 from the National Science Foundation (E.A.K.) and by the Dana Foundation. E.A.K. was partially funded as a fellow of the American Federation for Aging Research.

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Leclerc, C.M., Kensinger, E.A. Age-related differences in medial prefrontal activation in response to emotional images. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience 8, 153–164 (2008). https://doi.org/10.3758/CABN.8.2.153

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/CABN.8.2.153

Keywords

  • Natural Kind
  • Conjunction Analysis
  • Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex
  • Adult Life Span
  • Nitive Control