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Preserved Performance, Altered Timing: Age Differences in Preparatory Neural Dynamics During Cross-modal Attention Switching

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 8:00 – 10:00 am, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballrooms

PI-CHUN HUANG¹ (pichun_huang@mail.ncku.edu.tw), Ludivine Schils², Iring Koch², Denise Stephan², Shulan Hsieh¹; ¹National Cheng Kung University, ²RWTH Aachen University

Flexible allocation of attention across sensory modalities relies on preparatory control mechanisms that support efficient task switching. The present event-related fMRI study examined how advanced preparation modulates behavioral performance and cue-evoked neural dynamics in younger and older adults during a cued cross-modal attention-switching task. Thirty-six younger adults (19–27 years) and thirty-seven older adults (60–79 years) identified target location in a task-relevant sensory modality (visual or auditory), with preparation time manipulated via the cue–target interval (200 ms vs. 2100 ms). Behavioral results revealed robust switch costs, general preparation benefits, and switch-specific preparation effects, with comparable patterns across age groups, indicating preserved cross-modal flexibility in older adulthood. Whole-brain analyses identified switch-related activation within a frontoparietal control network and overall age differences in cue-evoked BOLD responses, but no evidence for age-related over-recruitment or age-by-condition interactions. Critically, ROI-based analyses of BOLD temporal profiles revealed age-dependent differences expressed more consistently in the timing, rather than the amplitude, of cue-evoked responses. In posterior regions (including the angular gyrus and cuneus) and frontal control regions (including the middle frontal gyrus), younger and older adults differed in how the timing of cue-related BOLD responses varied as a function of transition type and preparation interval, despite similar response amplitudes and preserved behavioral performance. These findings indicate that age-related differences in cross-modal attention switching are primarily reflected in altered temporal dynamics of preparatory neural processes rather than compensatory increases in activation magnitude.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Goal maintenance & switching