title: Influence of age on the dynamics of fMRI activations during a semantic fluency task.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Age-related fMRI changes have not been extensively studied for language, whereas important adaptive mechanisms have been seen in other cognitive fields. This study examined age-related changes in fMRI activation during language tasks and, in particular, their dynamic course.
  
  
  METHODS
  fMRI was performed on 22 young and 21 old healthy right-handed subjects during a silent category word-generation task. Activation and dynamics of BOLD signals were studied separately during the first and second portions of each 30-s block.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Activation of the left frontal lobe was initially similar in young and old participants; however, it decreased after 30 s in the old participants. On the other hand, additional areas were initially involved only in old subjects and especially in the default mode network.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed age-related differences in the dynamics of fMRI activation during a silent word-generation task, suggesting a different pattern of language function with aging.
authors: Service de neuroradiologie, CHRU de Tours, 2, boulevard Tonnellé, 37044 Tours, France.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Destrieux
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Hommet
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Domengie
authors: J-M
authors: JM
authors: Boissy
authors: G
authors: G
authors: De Marco
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Joanette
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Andersson
authors: J-P
authors: JP
authors: Cottier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012660:Semantics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult