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Age-related variability in cortical activity during language processing.

PURPOSE
The present study investigated the extent of cortical activity during overt picture naming using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).


METHOD
Participants comprised 20 healthy, adult participants with ages ranging from 20 to 82 years. While undergoing fMRI, participants completed a picture-naming task consisting of 60 high-frequency nouns.


RESULTS
Linear regression analysis revealed a positive relationship between age and cortical activation intensity in Broca's and Wernicke's areas as well as the right-hemisphere homologue of Broca's area. In contrast, neural activity in the anterior cingulate gyrus, an area thought to be involved in attentional processing, did not increase as a function of age.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest age-related increases in cortical activation during simple language tasks, such as picture naming, in brain areas typically associated with language processing.