title: fMRI study in posterior cingulate and adjacent precuneus cortex in healthy elderly adults using problem solving task.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the adjacent precuneus regions in healthy elderly adults during problem solving tasks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen participants (7 women, mean age of 63.6±6.0 years old) were analyzed. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks were simplified 4×4 Sudoku puzzles that were divided into simple tasks (using the row rule or the column rule to solve the puzzle) and complex tasks (using both the row and column rules to solve the puzzle).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean accuracy on the simple task was higher than that on the complex task (P=0.04); the reaction time on the simple task was shorter than that on the complex task (P=0.001). On both tasks, the participants showed deactivation in the bilateral PCC/precuneus regions. The extent of deactivation on the complex task was greater than that on the simple task (left: P=0.04; right: P=0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Healthy elderly adults showed deactivation in the bilateral PCC and precuneus regions during a problem solving task; in addition, the extent of deactivation was enhanced by increasing the difficulty of the problem solving task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Meitan General Hospital, Beijing, China 100028. guangweijin@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Guangwei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Kuncheng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zhiqun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Mingxiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qingyu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values