Prefrontal-parietal correlation during performance of the towers of Hanoi task in male children, adolescents and young adults.
Potential age differences in the electroencephalographic (EEG) correlation (r) between the prefrontal and parietal cortices during performance of the Tower of Hanoi task were studied. In three groups of healthy males (G1, 11-13; G2, 18-20, and G3, 26-30, years of age) EEGs were recorded at baseline and during performance of the Tower of Hanoi task. The parameters of the task showed no significant differences among groups, though the majority of younger subjects failed to complete it. The G1 group showed increases only in the interparietal r. The G2 group showed an increased interhemispheric and intrahemispheric r in almost all frequency bands, while the r in G3 increased only in selected frequency bands in the right hemisphere. These findings demonstrate that the functional coupling between these two cortices shows a characteristic pattern during performance of the Hanoi task that, while specific to each age group, was not associated with the successful performance of the task.
Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos Vallarta, C. P. 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Miguel Angel
MA
Guevara
Lucía Ester
LE
Rizo Martínez
Francisco Abelardo
FA
Robles Aguirre
Marisela
M
Hernández González
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult