The Effects of Useful Field of View Training on Brain Activity and Connectivity.

OBJECTIVES: Useful Field of View training (UFOVt) is an adaptive computerized cognitive intervention that improves visual attention and transfers to maintained health and everyday functioning in older adults. Although its efficacy is well established, the neural mechanisms underlying this intervention are unknown. This pilot study used functional MRI (fMRI) to explore neural changes following UFOVt. METHOD: Task-driven and resting-state fMRI were used to examine changes in brain activity and connectivity in healthy older adults randomized to 10 hr of UFOVt (n = 13), 10 hr of cognitively stimulating activities (CSA; n = 11), or a no-contact control (NC; n = 10). RESULTS: UFOVt resulted in reduced task-driven activity in the majority of regions of interest (ROIs) associated with task performance, CSA resulted in reduced activity in one ROI, and there were no changes within the NC group. Relative to NC, UFOVt reduced activity in ROIs involved in effortful information processing. There were no other significant between-group task-based differences. Resting-state functional connectivity between ROIs involved in executive function and visual attention was strengthened following UFOVt compared with CSA and NC. DISCUSSION: UFOVt enhances connections needed for visual attention. Together with prior work, this study provides evidence that improvement of the brain's visual attention efficiency is one mechanism underlying UFOVt.

Cortical thickness in frontoparietal and cingulo-opercular networks predicts executive function performance in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relationship between cortical thickness in executive control networks and neuropsychological measures of executive function. METHOD: Forty-one community-dwelling older adults completed an MRI scan and a neuropsychological battery including 5 measures of executive function. RESULTS: Factor analysis of executive function measures revealed 2 distinct factors: (a) Complex Attention Control (CAC), comprised of tasks that required immediate response to stimuli and involved subtle performance feedback; and (b) Sustained Executive Control (SEC), comprised of tasks that involved maintenance and manipulation of information over time. Neural networks of interest were the frontoparietal network (F-P) and cingulo-opercular network (C-O), which have previously been hypothesized to relate to different components of executive function, based on functional MRI studies, but not neuropsychological factors. Linear regression models revealed that greater cortical thickness in the F-P network, but not the C-O network, predicted better performance on the CAC factor, whereas greater cortical thickness in the C-O network, but not the F-P network, predicted better performance on the SEC factor. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between cortical thickness and performance on executive function measures was characterized by a double dissociation between the thickness of cortical regions hypothesized to be involved in executive control and distinct executive processes. Results indicate that fundamentally different executive processes may be predicted by cortical thickness in distinct brain networks.

Interventions to maintain mobility: What works?

Mobility, in broad terms, includes everything from the ability to move within your immediate environment (e.g., get out of bed) to the ability to drive across the country. Mobility is essential to maintaining independence and wellbeing, particularly for older adults. This is highlighted by the large number of interventions developed for older adults with the goal of maintaining such mobility. The current paper reviews the state of the science with respect to mobility interventions. Inclusion criteria for the review were: (1) articles must have been peer-reviewed; (2) interventions were evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT); (3) studies included a mobility outcome such as lifespace, driving, or walking ability; (4) studies included a sample of healthy community-dwelling older adults (e.g., not investigations of disease conditions); and (5) studies must have reported enough empirical data and detail such that results could potentially be replicated. Three main types of interventions were identified: cognitive training, educational interventions, and exercise interventions. A detailed summary and evaluation of each type of intervention, and the current evidence regarding its effectiveness in maintaining mobility, are discussed. Several interventions show clear evidence of effectiveness, and thus are prime areas for translation of results to the older population. Needs and issues for future intervention research are also detailed.