Showing papers by "Eraldo Paulesu published in 2022"

How the motor system copes with aging: a quantitative meta-analysis of the effect of aging on motor function control

Abstract: Motor cognitive functions and their neurophysiology evolve and degrade along the lifespan in a dramatic fashion. Current models of how the brain adapts to aging remain inspired primarily by studies on memory or language processes. Yet, aging is strongly associated with reduced motor independence and the associated degraded interaction with the environment: accordingly, any neurocognitive model of aging not considering the motor system is, ipso facto, incomplete. Here we present a meta-analysis of forty functional brain-imaging studies to address aging effects on motor control. Our results indicate that motor control is associated with aging-related changes in brain activity, involving not only motoric brain regions but also posterior areas such as the occipito-temporal cortex. Notably, some of these differences depend on the specific nature of the motor task and the level of performance achieved by the participants. These findings support neurocognitive models of aging that make fewer anatomical assumptions while also considering tasks-dependent and performance-dependent manifestations. Besides the theoretical implications, the present data also provide additional information for the motor rehabilitation domain, indicating that motor control is a more complex phenomenon than previously understood, to which separate cognitive operations can contribute and decrease in different ways with aging.

How shared goals shape action monitoring.

Abstract: Cooperation triggers expectations on our partners' contributions to achieve a common goal. A partner, however, may sometimes violate such expectations, driving us to perform immediate adjustments. What neurophysiological mechanisms support these adaptations? We tested the hypothesis of an interaction-specific brain system that can decode a partner's error and promote adaptive responses when cooperating toward a shared goal. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, the participants played short melodies with a virtual partner by performing one note each in turn-taking. A colored cue indicated which melody they had to execute at each trial, thus generating expectations on what notes the partner would play. The participants also performed the task in a perceptually matched Non-Interactive context. The results showed that task interactivity modulates the brain responses to a partner's error in dorsal fronto-temporoparietal and medial cingulo-opercular networks. Multivariate pattern analysis revealed that these neural activations reflect deep decoding of the partner's mistake. Within these networks, the automatic tendency to correct the partner's errors, as indexed by specific reaction times adaptations, depended on the activity of a right-lateralized fronto-opercular system that may enable mutual support during real-life cooperation. Future studies may unveil the role of this putative "interaction monitoring" brain system in social dysfunctions and their motor foundations.

Neural circuits mediating food cue-reactivity: Toward a new model shaping the interplay of internal and external factors

Abstract: COPYRIGHT © 2022 Devoto, Coricelli, Paulesu and Zapparoli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Neural circuits mediating food cue-reactivity: Toward a new model shaping the interplay of internal and external factors

When action prediction grows old: An fMRI study

Abstract: Predicting the unfolding of others' actions (action prediction) is crucial for successfully navigating the social world and interacting efficiently. Age‐related changes in this domain have remained largely unexplored, especially for predictions regarding simple gestures and independent of contextual information or motor expertise. Here, we evaluated whether healthy aging impacts the neurophysiological processes recruited to anticipate, from the observation of implied‐motion postures, the correct conclusion of simple grasping and pointing actions. A color‐discrimination task served as a control condition to assess the specificity of the age‐related effects. Older adults showed reduced efficiency in performance that was yet not specific to the action prediction task. Nevertheless, fMRI results revealed task‐specific age‐related differences: while both groups showed stronger recruitment of the lateral occipito‐temporal cortex bilaterally during the action prediction than the control task, the younger participants additionally showed a higher bilateral engagement of parietal regions. Importantly, in both groups, the recruitment of visuo‐motor processes in the right posterior parietal cortex was a predictor of good performance. These results support the hypothesis of decreased involvement of sensorimotor processes in cognitive tasks when processing action‐ and body‐related stimuli in healthy aging. These results have implications for social interaction, which requires the fast reading of others' gestures.