Age-differential patterns of brain activation during perception of angry faces.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study age-related differences in the neural circuitry involved in perception of negative facial affect. During scanning, 24 younger and 22 older adults viewed blocks of angry and neutral faces. The fMRI data analysis of the angry versus neutral faces contrast demonstrated greater activation in younger versus older individuals in the right amygdala/hippocampus region, whereas older adults demonstrated greater activation in the right anterior-ventral insula cortex. Hence, normal aging seems to affect specific nodes in the neural network involved in processing negative emotional face information. This age-related change from more subcortical to more cortical involvement could reflect functional compensation within the neural system involved in perception of facial affect, or the fact that older adults process emotional information in a different manner than do young adults.
Aging Research Center, Division of Geriatric Epidemiology, Neurotec, Karolinska Institute, Olivecronas vag 4, Box 6401, 113 82 Stockholm, Sweden. hakan.fischer@neurotec.ki.se
Håkan
H
Fischer
Johan
J
Sandblom
Joachim
J
Gavazzeni
Peter
P
Fransson
Christopher I
CI
Wright
Lars
L
Bäckman
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000786:Anger; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*