Effects of advanced aging on the neural correlates of successful recognition memory

Functional neuroimaging studies have reported that the neural correlates of retrieval success (old > new effects) are larger and more widespread in older than in young adults. In the present study we investigated whether this pattern of age-related ‘over-recruitment’ continues into advanced age. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), retrieval-related activity from two groups (N = 18 per group) of older adults aged 84–96 years (‘old–old’) and 64–77 years (‘young–old’) was contrasted. Subjects studied a series of pictures, half of which were presented once, and half twice. At test, subjects indicated whether each presented picture was old or new. Recognition performance of the old–old subjects for twice-studied items was equivalent to that of the young–old subjects for once-studied items. Old > new effects common to the two groups were identified in several cortical regions, including medial and lateral parietal and prefrontal cortex. There were no regions where these effects were of greater magnitude in the old–old group, and thus no evidence of over-recruitment in this group relative to the young–old individuals. In one region of medial parietal cortex, effects were greater (and only significant) in the young–old group. The failure to find evidence of over-recruitment in the old–old subjects relative to the young–old group, despite their markedly poorer cognitive performance, suggests that age-related over-recruitment effects plateau in advanced age. The findings for the medial parietal cortex underscore the sensitivity of this cortical region to increasing age.