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Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Voss, MW; Erickson, KI; Chaddock, L; Prakash, RS; Colcombe, SJ; Morris, KS; Doerksen, S; Hu, L; McAuley, E; Kramer, AF
Published in: Brain Res
December 9, 2008

Dedifferentiation, or decreased processing specificity, has been suggested to represent a ubiquitous characteristic of cognitive aging. In this study, we examined both age-related differences and intra-group differences in neural specificity in the ventral visual cortex for color, words, faces and places. Our results demonstrated that neural dedifferentiation was not ubiquitous across stimulus categories. Neural dedifferentiation was also relatively stable, across age, in a group of older adults. Older adults with more overall gray matter showed less neural dedifferentiation in the visual cortex. However, regional gray matter volume was not associated with neural dedifferentiation. We illustrate these effects using a discriminability metric, a signal detection theory measure, for neural dedifferentiation that takes into account both magnitude and variance of brain activation. The dedifferentiation measure provides a quantitative means to examine activation patterns and individual difference factors associated with neural dedifferentiation, and to test theories of behavioral dedifferentiation in cognitive aging literature.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Brain Res

DOI

EISSN

1872-6240

Publication Date

December 9, 2008

Volume

1244

Start / End Page

121 / 131

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Visual Perception
  • Visual Cortex
  • Reaction Time
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Individuality
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Voss, M. W., Erickson, K. I., Chaddock, L., Prakash, R. S., Colcombe, S. J., Morris, K. S., … Kramer, A. F. (2008). Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults. Brain Res, 1244, 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2008.09.051
Voss, Michelle W., Kirk I. Erickson, Laura Chaddock, Ruchika S. Prakash, Stanley J. Colcombe, Katherine S. Morris, Shawna Doerksen, Liang Hu, Edward McAuley, and Arthur F. Kramer. “Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults.Brain Res 1244 (December 9, 2008): 121–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2008.09.051.
Voss MW, Erickson KI, Chaddock L, Prakash RS, Colcombe SJ, Morris KS, et al. Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults. Brain Res. 2008 Dec 9;1244:121–31.
Voss, Michelle W., et al. “Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults.Brain Res, vol. 1244, Dec. 2008, pp. 121–31. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.09.051.
Voss MW, Erickson KI, Chaddock L, Prakash RS, Colcombe SJ, Morris KS, Doerksen S, Hu L, McAuley E, Kramer AF. Dedifferentiation in the visual cortex: an fMRI investigation of individual differences in older adults. Brain Res. 2008 Dec 9;1244:121–131.
Journal cover image

Published In

Brain Res

DOI

EISSN

1872-6240

Publication Date

December 9, 2008

Volume

1244

Start / End Page

121 / 131

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Visual Perception
  • Visual Cortex
  • Reaction Time
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Individuality