Biomedical subjects

Maritza Alvarado

Publications and source records attributed to Maritza Alvarado.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Training-induced plasticity in older adults: effects of training on hemispheric asymmetry.

The extent to which cortical plasticity is retained in old age remains an understudied question, despite large social and scientific implications of such a result. Neuroimaging research reports individual differences in age-related activation, thereby educing speculation that some degree of plasticity may remain throughout life. We conducted a randomized longitudinal dual-task training study to investigate if performance improvements (a) change the magnitude or pattern of fMRI activation, thereby suggesting some plasticity retention in old age and (b) result in a reduction in asymmetry and an increase in age differences in fMRI activation as a compensatory model of performance-related activation predicts. Performance improvements were correlated with an increase in hemispheric asymmetry and a reduction in age differences in ventral and dorsal prefrontal activation. These results provide evidence for plasticity in old age and are discussed in relation to an alternative argument for the role of reduced asymmetry in performance improvements.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Training-induced functional activation changes in dual-task processing: an FMRI study.

Although training-induced changes in brain activity have been previously examined, plasticity associated with executive functions remains understudied. In this study, we examined training-related changes in cortical activity during a dual task requiring executive control. Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions, one before training and one after training, were performed on both a control group and a training group. Using a region-of-interest analysis, we examined Time x Group and Time x Group x Condition interactions to isolate training-dependent changes in activation. We found that most regions involved in dual-task processing before training showed reductions in activation after training. Many of the decreases in activation were correlated with improved performance on the task. We also found an area in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that showed an increase in activation for the training group for the dual-task condition, which was also correlated with improved performance. These results are discussed in relation to the efficacy of training protocols for modulating attention and executive functions, dual-task processing, and fMRI correlates of plasticity.

Adult↗