Neural Oscillations in the Aging Brain Associated With Interference Control in Word Production

Neurobiology of Language, vol. 6

Abstract

Speaking is not only about retrieving words and structuring them into sentences; it also requires top-down control to plan and execute speech. In previous electrophysiological research with young adult speakers, mid-frontal theta oscillations have been observed using a picture-word interference paradigm. With this paradigm, participants name pictures while ignoring superimposed distractor words. In particular, mid-frontal theta power increases for categorically related distractors relative to other types of distractors, reflecting top-down interference control in resolving the competition between processing streams during word production. In the present study, we conceptually replicated the magnetoencephalography study by Piai, Roelofs, Jensen, et al. (2014) with an older group of healthy adults (mean age: 60 yr). Behaviorally, we replicated distractor semantic interference and Stroop-like interference effects typically observed in young adults. However, we did not find the corresponding theta modulation associated with these interference effects at the neural level. Instead, we found beta power decreases associated with interference control, mostly pronounced in the left posterior temporal and inferior parietal cortex. We further confirmed that these beta modulations were not present in the young adults' data. The distinct spectro-spatial-temporal profile of the oscillatory effects in the older population may reflect different underlying dynamics relative to the midline frontal effect previously found in young adult speakers. Our results indicate that the neural underpinnings of top-down interference control may be modified by aging and that the mid-frontal theta cannot be the exclusive oscillatory pattern enabling interference control during spoken word production.

Authors 2

1. Xiaochen Zheng corresponding Aachen Cognitive Psychology Unit Institute of Psychology, Leiden University

   Leiden University · Radboud University Nijmegen · Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging

   Affiliation as printed

   Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

   Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

2. Vitória Piai

   Radboud University Medical Center · Radboud University Nijmegen · Donders Centre for Neuroscience · Donders Centre for Cognition

   Affiliation as printed

   Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

   Radboudumc, Donders Centre for Medical Neuroscience, Department of Medical Psychology, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

   Donders Centre for Cognition, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands