Summary: New research shows that older adults can compensate for cognitive deterioration related to age by improving activity in a specific brain region linked to attention: Locus coeruleus (LC). In a study of brain images, older participants showed stronger LC responses when interpreting ambiguous facial expressions, compared to younger adults.
This LC activity was more pronounced in older people with high emotional resistance and well -being. The results suggest that the aging of the brain can reorganize neuronal pathways to support complex social processing and mental health.
Key facts:
LC activation: Older adults show more Locus Coeruleus activity during difficult facial expression tasks. Adaptive route: A stronger LC connection to the cortex is linked to a better emotional resilience in aging. Mental Health Vineta: Going to this brain circuit can help support cognition and emotional regulation.
Source: SFN
Because aging weakens cognitive skills, older people can fight to read difficult social signals.
A brain region involved in attention and excitement, Locus Coeruleus (LC), refers to complex tasks, and their connections with the crust can adapt as humans age to support cognition.
To shed more light on this, Maryam Ziaei, from the University of Science and Technology of Norway, and his colleagues explored if the LC and its cortical tracks change over time to help process faces that are difficult to read.
In their new Journal of Neuroscience Paper, the researchers took images of the brains of young adults (from 21 to 29 years old) and old (from 67 to 75 years) while looking at their faces. Older adults had more LC activity than younger adults when facial expressions were more difficult to understand.
More specifically, a projection of the LC to an area of the cortical brain involved in decision -making and the executive function was stronger in the elderly. This route was the strongest in older adults with better mental well -being and emotional resistance.
Therefore, according to the authors, this LC neural route can be adapted over time to support difficult social tasks, such as reading ambiguous facial expressions. This support role may be due to the contributions of this route towards mental and emotional health. Ziaei says,
“It is possible to promote emotional and mental regulation by attacking this way. This could help older people who face cognitive deterioration or even younger people with conditions such as anxiety or depression to better deal with social processing.”
On this News Research News and Social Neuroscience
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Source: SFN
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Original research: closed access.
“Act related to age in the activity of Locus Coeruleus and connectivity with the prefrontal cortex during ambiguity processing” by Maryam Ziaei et al. Neuroscience Magazine
Abstract
Age related to age in the activity of Locus coeruleus and connectivity with the prefrontal cortex during ambiguity processing
The interpretation of ambiguous environmental signals, such as facial expressions, becomes increasingly challenging with age, especially as cognitive resources decrease.
The management of these challenges requires adaptive neuronal mechanisms that are essential to maintain mental well -being.
The Locus Coeruleus (LC), the main source of brain norepinephrine, regulates attention, excitement and stress response.
With extensive cortical connections, the LC admits to adapt to cognitive demands and resolve conflicting environmental signals, particularly in later life.
Previous investigations suggest that LC interacts with the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during high conflict tasks.
However, if the LC activity and its connectivity with the PFC support the processing of emotional ambiguity and contribute to emotional well -being in healthy aging, it still does not be clear.
To address this gap, we use 7T-MRI to examine the LC function in 75 younger (25.8 ± 4.02 years, 35 femals) and 69 older adults (71.3 ± 4.1 years, 35 femals) during the facial collection task of the issuance of the issuance of the issuance of the broadcast. (30%happy-70%fearful and 40%happy-60%fearful expressions), and absolute ambiguity (50%happy).
The behavior, the participants had longer response times and less confidence during the condition of absolute ambiguity, while older adults perceived ambiguous faces more frequently than younger adults.
The results of neuroimagen revealed that older adults exhibited greater LC activity and an improved dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) during absolute ambiguity compared to younger adults.
This high connectivity in older adults was related to better self -informed mental welfare questionnaires regardless of the task and greater emotional resilience scores derived from the analysis of main components are derived.
In general, these findings suggest that a greater LC activity supports the management of cognitively demanding tasks, while improved LC-DLPFC connectivity promotes emotional well-being, highlighting the role of this neural route in healthy aging.
