ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on advances in the functional neuroimaging of human cognition that have led toward a converging view that neural circuits involving prefrontal function and the related capacity for attentional control are key components of the developmental changes associated with normal aging. Functional imaging studies observe a wide range of patterns during normal aging, including decreased, stable, and increased activation patterns. Despite the modest changes in medial temporal lobes (MTL) volume during normal aging, functional imaging studies of memory tend to reveal age-related decreases in MTL activation. In contrast to the modest MTL volume changes associated with normal aging, the effects of pathological processes, as in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, have large adverse effects on both MTL volumes and memory function. Age-related changes in gross volume of specific brain regions are important for placing in context the functional changes associated with aging.
