Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 27, Issue 7 , Pages 965-972, July 2006

Age differences in the neural systems supporting human allocentric spatial navigation

  • Scott D. Moffat

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Personality, Cognition and National Institute on Aging, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
    • Institute of Gerontology, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 87 E Ferry St. Detroit, MI 48202, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 313 577 2297; fax: +1 313 875 0127.
    • ,
  • Wendy Elkins

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Personality, Cognition and National Institute on Aging, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
    • ,
  • Susan M. Resnick

      Affiliations

    • Laboratory of Personality, Cognition and National Institute on Aging, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA

Received 8 December 2004; received in revised form 7 April 2005; accepted 4 May 2005. published online 27 June 2005.

Abstract 

Age-related declines in spatial navigation are well-known in human and non-human species. Studies in non-human species suggest that alteration in hippocampal and other neural circuitry may underlie behavioral deficits associated with aging but little is known about the neural mechanisms of human age-related decline in spatial navigation. The purpose of the present study was to examine age differences in functional brain activation during virtual environment navigation. Voxel-based analysis of activation patterns in young subjects identified activation in the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus, retrosplenial cortex, right and left lateral parietal cortex, medial parietal lobe and cerebellum. In comparison to younger subjects, elderly participants showed reduced activation in the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus, medial parietal lobe and retrosplenial cortex. Relative to younger participants elderly subjects showed increased activation in anterior cingulate gyrus and medial frontal lobe. These results provide evidence of age specific neural networks supporting spatial navigation and identify a putative neural substrate for age-related differences in spatial memory and navigational skill.

Keywords: Cognitive aging, Navigation, Spatial memory, Human, fMRI, Alzheimer's disease, Hippocampus, Parahippocampal gyrus, Retro-splenial cortex

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PII: S0197-4580(05)00120-X

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.05.011

Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 27, Issue 7 , Pages 965-972, July 2006

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