Attentional Neural Mechanisms Associated with Cognitive Training in Healthy Older Adults
Open Access
- Author:
- Chamberlain, Jordan
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 03, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Chaleece Sandberg (she/her), Outside Unit & Field Member
Bradley Wyble, Major Field Member
Frank Hillary, Major Field Member
Nancy Dennis, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Kristin Buss (she/her), Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- aging
cognitive training
attention
fmri
speed of processing training
univariate
resting state - Abstract:
- Even without the presence of significant disease, aging is accompanied by marked declines in cognitive abilities. Notable among these deficits are reductions in facets of attention, specifically the ability to maintain a state of alertness, orient to new information, and resolve incongruent information. Such reductions are also accompanied by altered neural recruitment and resting state connectivity associated with attention processing in older compared to younger adults. These declines in attentional abilities with age have significant negative impacts on the daily lives of older adults. Critically, targeted cognitive training interventions offer evidence that declines in attention can be ameliorated in healthy aging. Improved behavioral performance is also often accompanied by neuroplasticity in the form of altered neural recruitment and improved resting state connectivity. Despite these efforts, little is known regarding how cognitive training may benefit the different facets of attention, nor the univariate and functional connectivity mechanisms by which training benefits manifest. The current study tests the hypothesis that prosses-based cognitive training in older adults will 1) enhance behavioral performance in alerting, orienting, and executive functioning, 2) alter neural recruitment in regions which selectively activate during attention processes, and 3) increase the segregation and efficiency of resting state networks associated with attention. I observed improved reaction times associated with executive functioning in trained older adults in conjunction with altered neural recruitment associated with alerting and orienting of attention, absent any network reconfigurations. The current dissertation therefore adds support to the notion that targeted cognitive intervention improves behavioral performance in healthy older adults, and offers insights as to which neural mechanisms underly these benefits. Implications and future directions are also discussed.