Age hurts coordination of brain activity

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers found the functioning of discrete brain systems is poorly coordinated in healthy older adults compared with younger people.

Scientists from Harvard University, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Michigan said their findings help explain why advanced age is often accompanied by a loss of mental agility, even in physically healthy individuals.

The researchers studied 55 adults 60 years and older and 38 adults approximately aged 35 and younger. They used a neuroimaging technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging to map levels of activity in many brain areas while study participants simultaneously completed tests of memory, processing speed, planning and judgment.

Results showed the activity of the discrete brain systems was much better coordinated among younger participants that in older ones.

"Understanding why we lose cognitive function as we age may help us to prolong our mental abilities later in life," said Professor Randy Buckner of Harvard. "The results of this study help us to understand how the aging brain differs from the brain of a younger individual."

The research is reported in the journal Neuron.