Age-related differences in resolving semantic and phonological competition during receptive language tasks.
Abstract
Receptive language (e.g., reading) is largely preserved in the aging brain, and semantic
processes in particular may continue to develop throughout the lifespan. We investigated
the neural underpinnings of phonological and semantic retrieval in older and younger
adults during receptive language tasks (rhyme and semantic similarity judgments).
In particular, we were interested in the role of competition on language retrieval
and varied the similarities between a cue, target, and distractor that were hypothesized
to affect the mental process of competition. Behaviorally, all participants responded
faster and more accurately during the rhyme task compared to the semantic task. Moreover,
older adults demonstrated higher response accuracy than younger adults during the
semantic task. Although there were no overall age-related differences in the neuroimaging
results, an Age×Task interaction was found in left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), with
older adults producing greater activation than younger adults during the semantic
condition. These results suggest that at lower levels of task difficulty, older and
younger adults engaged similar neural networks that benefited behavioral performance.
As task difficulty increased during the semantic task, older adults relied more heavily
on largely left hemisphere language regions, as well as regions involved in perception
and internal monitoring. Our results are consistent with the stability of language
comprehension across the adult lifespan and illustrate how the preservation of semantic
representations with aging may influence performance under conditions of increased
task difficulty.
Type
Journal articleSubject
BrainHumans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Brain Mapping
Comprehension
Mental Recall
Judgment
Reaction Time
Language Tests
Aging
Phonetics
Semantics
Adult
Aged
Middle Aged
Female
Male
Young Adult
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22534Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.016Publication Info
Zhuang, Jie; Johnson, Micah A; Madden, David J; Burke, Deborah M; & Diaz, Michele
T (2016). Age-related differences in resolving semantic and phonological competition during
receptive language tasks. Neuropsychologia, 93(Pt A). pp. 189-199. 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.016. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22534.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
David Joseph Madden
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
My research focuses primarily on the cognitive neuroscience of aging: the investigation
of age-related changes in perception, attention, and memory, using both behavioral
measures and neuroimaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET),
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
The behavioral measures have focused on reaction time, with the goal of distinguishing
age-related changes in specific cognitive abilities from mo

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