DiGirolamo, G. J., Kramer, A. F., Barad, V., Cepeda, N. J., Weissman, D. H., Milham, M. P., Wszalek, T. M., Cohen, N. J., Banich, M. T., Webb, A., Belopolsky, A. V., & McAuley, E. (2001). General and task-specific frontal lobe recruitment in older adults during executive processes: An fMRI investigation of task switching. Neuroreport, 12, 2065-2071. [155k pdf]

Performance deteriorates when subjects must shift between two different tasks relative to performing either task separately. This switching cost is thought to result from executive processes that are not inherent to the component operations of either task when performed alone. Medial and dorsolateral frontal cortices are theorized to subserve these executive processes. Here we show that larger areas of activation were seen in dorsolateral and medial frontal cortex in both younger and older adults during switching than repeating conditions, confirming the role of these frontal brain regions in executive processes. Younger subjects activated these medial and dorsolateral frontal cortices only when switching between tasks; in contrast, older subjects recruited similar frontal regions while performing the tasks in isolation as well as alternating between them. Older adults recruit medial and dorsolateral frontal areas, and the processes computed by these areas, even when no such demands are intrinsic to the current task conditions. This neural recruitment may be useful in offsetting the declines in cognitive function associated with ageing.

2008 (cited by 8)

• Braver, T. S., & West, R. (2008). Working memory, executive control and aging. In F. I. M. Criak & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.), Handbook of aging and cognition (3rd ed.) (pp. ?-?). Mahweh, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Dennis, N. A., & Cabeza, R. (2008). Neuroimaging of healthy cognitive aging. In F. I. M. Criak & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.), Handbook of aging and cognition (3rd ed.) (pp. 1-54). Mahweh, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Friedman, D., Nessler, D., Johnson, Ray, Jr., Ritter, W., & Bersick, M. (2008). Age-related changes in executive function: An event-related potential (ERP) investigation of task switching. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 15, 95-128.
• Goffaux, P., Phillips, N. A., Sinai, M., & Pushkar, D. (2008). Neuropsysiological measures of task-set switching: Effects of working memory and aging. Journals of Gerontology Series B - Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63, P57-P66.
• Heuninckx, S., Wenderoth, N., & Swinnen, S. P. (2008). Systems neuroplasticity in the aging brain: Recruiting additional neural resources for successful motor performance in elderly persons. Journal of Neuroscience, 28, 91-99.
• Kremen, W. S., Xian, H., Jacobson, K. C., Eaves, L. J., Franz, C. E., Panizzon, M. S., Eisen, S. A., Crider, A., & Lyons, M. J. (2008). Storage and executive components of working memory: Integrating cognitive psychology and behavioral genetics in the study of aging. Journals of Gerontology Series B - Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63, P84-P91.
• Shallice, T., Stuss, D. T., Picton, T. W., Alexander, M. P., & Gillingham, S. (2008). Multiple effects of prefrontal lesions on task-switching. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 1, 1-12.
• Themanson, J. R., Hillman, C. H., McAuley, E., Buck, S. M., Doerksen, S. E., Morris, K. S., & Pontifex, M. B. (2008). Self-efficacy effects on neuroelectric and behavioral indices of action monitoring in older adults. Neurobiology of Aging, 29, 1111-1122.

2007 (cited by 6)

• Braver, T. S., & West, R. (2007). Working memory, executive control and aging. In F. I. M. Craik, & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.), The Handbook of Aging and Cognition. Psychology Press.
• Eppinger, B., Kray, J., Mecklinger, A., & John, O. (2007). Age differences in task switching and response monitoring: Evidence from ERPs. Biological Psychology, 75, 52-67.
• Langenecker, S. A., Briceno, E. M., Hamid, N. M., & Nielson, K. A. (2007). An evaluation of distinct volumetric and functional MRI contributions toward understanding age and task performance: A study of the basal ganglia. Brain Research, 1135, 58-68.
• Schapkin, S. A., Freude, G., Erdmann, U., & Ruediger, H. (2007). Stress and managers performance: Age-related changes in psychophysiological reactions to cognitive load. In D. Harris (Ed.); J. G. Carbonell & J. Siekmann (series Eds.), Engineering psychology and cognitive ergonomics (Lecture notes in computer science series) (pp. 417-425). New York: Springer.
• Serrien, D. J., Ivry, R. B., & Swinnen, S. P. (2007). The missing link between action and cognition. Progress in Neurobiology, 82, 95-107.
• Wang, Y. P., Xue, G., Chen, C. S., Xue, F., & Dong, Q. (2007). Neural basis of asymmetric language switching in second-language learners: An ER-fMRI study. NeuroImage, 35, 862-870.

2006 (cited by 16)

• Davidson, M. C., Anso, D., Anderson, L. C., & Diamond, A. (2006). Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2037-2078.
• Dibbets, P., Bakker, K., & Jolles, J. (2006). Functional MRI of task switching in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Neurocase, 12, 71-79.
• Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Tang, J., Mehmedbegovic, F., Farrow, M., Bradshaw, J., & Sheppard, D. (2006). Age-related differences in cognitive function using a global local hierarchical paradigm. Brain Research, 1124, 86-95.
• Gruber, O., Karch, S., Schlueter, E. K., Falkai, P., & Goschke, T. (2006). Neural mechanisms of advance preparation in task switching. Neuroimage, 31, 887-895.
• Kramer, A. F., Fabiani, M., & Colcombe, S. J. (2006). Contributions of cognitive neuroscience to the understanding of behavior and aging. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaire (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (6th ed.) (pp. 57-83). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
• Kramer, A. F., & Kray, J. (2006). Aging and attention. In E. Bialystok & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Lifespan cognition: Mechanisms of change (pp. 57-69). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Kray, J. (2006). Task-set switching under cue-based versus memory-based switching conditions in younger and older adults. Brain Research, 1105, 83-92.
• Nielson, K. A., Douville, K. L., Seidenberg, M., Woodard, J. L., Miller, S. K., Franczak, M., Antuono, P., & Rao, S. M. (2006). Age-related functional recruitment for famous name recognition: An event-related fMRI study. Neurobiology and Aging, 27, 1494-1504.
• Poon, L. W., Wojtek, C.-Z., & Tomporowski, P. D. (2006). Active listening, cognitive functioning, and aging. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Reuter-Lorenz, P. A., & Mikels, J. A. (2006). The aging mind and brain: Implications of enduring plasticity for behavioral and cultural change. In P. B. Baltes, P. A. Reuter-Lorenz, & F. Rosler (Eds.), Lifespan development and the brain: The perspective of biocultural co-constructivism (pp. 255-276). New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Rubia, K., Smith, A. B., Woolley, J., Nosarti, C., Heyman, I., Taylor, E., & Brammer, M. (2006). Progressive increase of frontostriatal brain activation from childhood to adulthood during event-related tasks of cognitive control. Human Brain Mapping, 27, 973-993.
• Sliwinski, M. J., Smyth, J. M., Hofer, S. M., & Stawski, R. S. (2006). Intraindividual coupling of stress and cognition. Psychology and Aging, 21, 545-557.
• Themanson, J. R., Hillman, C. H., & Curtin, J. J. (2006). Age and physical activity influences on action monitoring during task switching. Neurobiology of Aging, 27, 1335-1345.
• Townsend, J. Adamo, M., & Haist, F. (2006). Changing channels: An fMRI study of aging and cross-modal attention shifts. NeuroImage, 31, 1682-1692.
• West, R., & Schwarb, H. (2006). The influence of aging and frontal lobe function on the neural correlates of regulative and evaluative aspects of cognitive control. Neuropsychology, 20, 468-481.
• Wylie, G. R., Javitt, D. C., & Foxe, J. J. (2006). Jumping the gun: Is effective preparation contingent upon anticipatory activation in task-relevant neural circuitry. Cerebral Cortex, 16, 394-404.

2005 (cited by 16)

• Buchsbaum, B. R., Greer, S., Chang, W. L., & Berman, K. F. (2005). Meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies of the Wisconsin card-sorting task and component processes. Human Brain Mapping, 25, 35-45.
• Derrfuss, J., Brass, M., Neumann, J., & von Cramon, D. Y. (2005). Involvement of the inferior frontal junction in cognitive control: Meta-analyses of switching and Stroop studies. Human Brain Mapping, 25, 22-34.
• Erickson, K. I., Colcombe, S. J., Wadhwa, R., Bherer, L., Peterson, M. S., Scalf, P. E., & Kramer, A. F. (2005). Neural correlates of dual-task performance after minimizing task-preparation. Neuroimage, 28, 967-979.
• Gilbert, S. J., Frith, C. D., & Burgess, P. W. (2005). Involvement of rostral prefrontal cortex in selection between stimulus-oriented and stimulus-independent thought. European Journal of Neuroscience, 21, 1423-1431.
• Haut, M. W., Kuwabara, H., Moran, M. T., Leach, S., Arias, R., & Knight, D. (2005). The effect of education on age-related functional activation during working memory. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 12, 216-229.
• Kray, J., Eppinger, B., & Mecklinger, A. (2005). Age differences in attentional control: An event-related potential approach. Psychophysiology, 42, 407-416.
• Kubesch, S. (2005). Das bewegte gehirn exekutive funktionen und korperliche aktivitat [The moved brain executive functions and physical activity]. Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Ulm.
• Madden, D. J., Whiting, W. L., & Huettel, S. A. (2005). Age-related changes in neural activity during visual perception and attention. In R. Cabeza, N. Lars, & D. Park (Eds.), Cognitive neuroscience of aging: Linking cognitive and cerebral aging (pp. 157-185). London: Oxford University Press.
• Mundy, P., & Burnette, C. (2005). Joint attention and neurodevelopmental models of autism. In F. R. Volkman, R. Paul, A. Klin, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders, Vol. 1: Diagnosis, development, neurobiology, and behavior (3rd Ed.) (pp. 650-681). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
• Reimers, S., & Maylor, E. A. (2005). Task switching across the life span: Effects of age on general and specific switch costs. Developmental Psychology, 41, 661-671.
• Remijnse, P. L., Nielsen, M. M. A., Uylings, H. B. M., & Veltman, D. J. (2005). Neural correlates of a reversal learning task with an affectively neutral baseline: An event-related fMRI study. Neuroimage, 26, 609-618.
• Reuter-Lorenz, P. A., & Lustig, C. (2005). Brain aging: Reorganizing discoveries about the aging mind. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 15, 245-251.
• Reuter-Lorenz, P. A., & Sylvester, C.-Y. C. (2005). The cognitive neuroscience of working memory and aging. In R. Cabeza, N. Lars, & D. Park (Eds.), Cognitive neuroscience of aging: Linking cognitive and cerebral aging (pp. 186-217). London: Oxford University Press.
• Rosano, C., Aizenstein, H., Cochran, J., Saxton, J., De Kosky, S., Newman, A. B., Kuller, L. H., Lopez, O. L., & Carter, C. S. (2005). Functional neuroimaging indicators of successful executive control in the oldest old. Neuroimage, 28, 881-889.
• Tun, P. A., & Lachman, M. E. (2005). Brief test of adult cognition by telephone (BTACT) (Technical Report, Brandeis University Psychology Department).
• West, R., & Moore, K. (2005). Adjustments of cognitive control in younger and older adults. Cortex, 41, 570-581.

2004 (cited by 12)

• Bunge, S. A. (2004). How we use rules to select actions: A review of evidence from cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 4, 564-579.
• Casey, B. J., Davidson, M. C., Hara, Y., Thomas, K. M., Martinez, A., Galvan, A., Halperin, J. M., Rodriguez-Aranda, C. E., & Tottenham, N. (2004). Early development of subcortical regions in non-cued attention switching. Developmental Science, 7, 534-542.
• Cohen, R., Sweet, L., Tate, D. F., & Fisher, M. (2004). Functional brain imaging of cerebrovascular disease. In R. H. Paul, R. Cohen, B. R. Ott, & S. Salloway (Eds.), Vascular dementia: Cerebrovascular mechanisms and clinical management (pp. 181-210). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
• Hedden, T., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2004). Insights into the ageing mind: A view from cognitive neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5, 87-96.
• Hillman, C. H., Belopolsky, A. V., Snook, E. M., Kramer, A. F., & McAuley, E. (2004). Physical activity and executive control: Implications for increased cognitive health during older adulthood. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 75, 176-185.
• Langenecker, S. A., Nielson, K. A., & Rao, S. M. (2004). fMRI of healthy older adults during Stroop interference. NeuroImage, 21, 192-200.
• Libera, C. D., & Stablum, F. (2004). Processes and mechanisms underlying task switching. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 31, 279-303.
• Smith, A. B., Taylor, E., Brammer, M., & Rubia, K. (2004). Neural correlates of switching set as measured in fast, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. Human Brain Mapping, 21, 247-256.
• Studer, M. (2004). Cognitive rehabilitation in the frail elderly patient - never too old to learn? Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 20, 21-33.
• Wager, T. D., Jonides, J., & Reading, S. (2004). Neuroimaging studies of shifting attention: A meta-analysis. NeuroImage, 22, 1679-1693.
• Wylie, G. R., Javitt, D. C., & Foxe, J. J. (2004). Don't think of a white bear: An fMRI investigation of the effects of sequential instructional sets on cortical activity in a task-switching paradigm. Human Brain Mapping, 21, 279-297.
• Wylie, G. R., Javitt, D. C., & Foxe, J. J. (2004). The role of response requirements in task switching: Dissolving the residue. Neuroreport, 15, 1079-1087.

2003 (cited by 7)

• Braver, T. S., Reynolds, J. R., & Donaldson, D. I. (2003). Neural mechanisms of transient and sustained cognitive control during task switching. Neuron, 39, 713-726.
• Dreher, J.-C., & Grafman, J. (2003). Dissociating the roles of the rostral anterior cingulate and the lateral prefrontal cortices in performing two tasks simultaneously or successively. Cerebral Cortex, 13, 329-339.
• Kubesch, S., Bretschneider, V., Freudenmann, R., Weidenhammer, N., Lehmann, M., Spitzer, M., & Gron, G. (2003). Aerobic endurance exercise improves executive functions in depressed patients. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64, 1005-1012.
• Langenecker, S. A., & Nielson, K. A. (2003). Frontal recruitment during response inhibition in older adults replicated with fMRI. NeuroImage, 20, 1384-1392.
• Mundy, P. (2003). Annotation: The neural basis of social impairments in autism: The role of the dorsal medial-frontal cortex and anterior cingulate system. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 44, 793-809.
• Sifrit, K. J. (2003). The effects of aging and cognitive decrements on simulated driving performance. Dissertation from Wichita State University.
• Wylie, G. R., Javitt, D. C., & Foxe, J. J. (2003). Task switching: A high-density electrical mapping study. NeuroImage, 20, 2322-2342.

2002 (cited by 3)

• Grefkes, C., Weiss, P. H., Zilles, K. & Fink, G. R. (2002). Crossmodal processing of object features in human anterior intraparietal cortex: An fMRI study implies equivalencies between humans and monkeys. Neuron, 35, 173-184.
• Rende, B., Ramsberger, G., & Miyake, A. (2002). Commonalities and differences in the working memory components underlying letter and category fluency tasks: A dual-task investigation. Neuropsychology, 16, 309-321.
• Reuter-Lorenz, P. A. (2002). New visions of the aging mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 394-400.

2001 (cited by 1)

• Kramer, A. F., Cepeda, N. J., & Cepeda, M. L. (2001). Methylphenidate effects of task-switching performance in attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1277-1284.