Perceptual and conceptual processing of visual objects across the adult lifespan
Creators: name: Bruffaerts, Rose
name: Tyler, Lorraine K.
name: Shafto, Meredith
name: Tsvetanov, Kamen A.
name: Clarke, Alex
name: Brayne, Carol
name: Bullmore, Edward T.
name: Calder, Andrew C.
name: Cusack, Rhodri
name: Dalgleish, Tim
name: Duncan, John
name: Henson, Richard N.
name: Matthews, Fiona E.
name: Marslen-Wilson, William D.
name: Rowe, James B.
name: Campbell, Karen
name: Cheung, Teresa
name: Davis, Simon
name: Geerligs, Linda
name: Kievit, Rogier
name: McCarrey, Anna
name: Mustafa, Abdur
name: Price, Darren
name: Samu, David
name: Taylor, Jason R.
name: Treder, Matthias
name: Van Belle, Janna
name: Williams, Nitin
name: Bates, Lauren
name: Emery, Tina
name: Erzinçlioglu, Sharon
name: Gadie, Andrew
name: Gerbase, Sofia
name: Georgieva, Stanimira
name: Hanley, Claire
name: Parkin, Beth
name: Troy, David
name: Auer, Tibor
name: Correia, Marta
name: Gao, Lu
name: Green, Emma
name: Henriques, Rafael
name: Allen, Jodie
name: Amery, Gillian
name: Amunts, Liana
name: Barcroft, Anne
name: Castle, Amanda
name: Dias, Cheryl
name: Dowrick, Jonathan
name: Fair, Melissa
name: Fisher, Hayley
name: Goulding, Anna
name: Grewal, Adarsh
name: Hale, Geoff
name: Hilton, Andrew
name: Johnson, Frances
name: Johnston, Patricia
name: Kavanagh-Williamson, Thea
name: Kwasniewska, Magdalena
name: McMinn, Alison
name: Norman, Kim
name: Penrose, Jessica
name: Roby, Fiona
name: Rowland, Diane
name: Sargeant, John
name: Squire, Maggie
name: Stevens, Beth
name: Stoddart, Aldabra
name: Stone, Cheryl
name: Thompson, Tracy
name: Yazlik, Ozlem
name: Barnes, Dan
name: Dixon, Marie
name: Hillman, Jaya
name: Mitchell, Joanne
name: Villis, Laura
Publisher: name: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Year: 2019
Subjects: Article
/631/378/2649/1594
/631/378/2649/1723
/9
/123
/119
article

description: Abstract: Making sense of the external world is vital for multiple domains of cognition, and so it is crucial that object recognition is maintained across the lifespan. We investigated age differences in perceptual and conceptual processing of visual objects in a population-derived sample of 85 healthy adults (24–87 years old) by relating measures of object processing to cognition across the lifespan. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was recorded during a picture naming task to provide a direct measure of neural activity, that is not confounded by age-related vascular changes. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate neural responsivity for each individual, namely the capacity to represent visual or semantic information relating to the pictures. We find that the capacity to represent semantic information is linked to higher naming accuracy, a measure of task-specific performance. In mature adults, the capacity to represent semantic information also correlated with higher levels of fluid intelligence, reflecting domain-general performance. In contrast, the latency of visual processing did not relate to measures of cognition. These results indicate that neural responsivity measures relate to naming accuracy and fluid intelligence. We propose that maintaining neural responsivity in older age confers benefits in task-related and domain-general cognitive processes, supporting the brain maintenance view of healthy cognitive ageing.