基因-大脑-行为框架下的抑制控制与老化

抑制控制能力是认知功能的重要成分。神经影像研究表明, 老年人抑制控制能力改变与前额叶皮层萎缩、神经元丧失有着密切关系, 抑制过程中前额叶需要以更高水平的激活达到代偿目的。遗传学研究表明, 抑制控制相关认知老化具有个体差异性, 大脑结构功能对个体差异的作用会出现衰退, 而遗传变异作用逐渐增加, 并使之成为认知老化个体差异性的主要原因之一。未来研究应利用遗传影像学, 结合影像学和遗传学优势, 在基因、大脑和行为框架下探索抑制控制与老化。

A Unified Framework of the Genes-Brain-Behavior for Inhibitory Control with Aging

Inhibitory control, which refers to the ability to successfully suppress dominant behavior and irrelevant stimuli, is an important mechanism in the cognitive function. Neuroimaging studies suggested that the age-related declines in inhibitory control associated with the cortical shrinkage and loss of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. What’s more, age-related increases in PFC activation to functional compensation have been found in functional neuroimaging studies. Meanwhile, genetics studies show that cognitive aging was marked by heterogeneity. The effect of common genetic variants contributed to the observed increase in heterogeneity in normal aging. Imaging genetics, which combines imaging and genetics advantages, should be used to explore the inhibitory control and aging under the framework of Genes-Brain-Behavior.