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Functional neuroimaging studies of aging and emotion: Fronto-amygdalar differences during emotional perception and episodic memory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2009

PEGGY L. ST. JACQUES ,
BRANDY BESSETTE-SYMONS  and
ROBERTO CABEZA
PEGGY L. ST. JACQUES*
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
BRANDY BESSETTE-SYMONS
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
ROBERTO CABEZA
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Peggy L. St. Jacques, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Box 90999, Durham, NC 27708. E-mail: peggy.st.jacques@duke.edu
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Abstract

Emotional processes are enhanced in aging, such that aging is characterized by superior emotional regulation. This article provides a brief review of the neural bases supporting this effect with a focus on functional neuroimaging studies of perception and episodic memory. The most consistent finding across these studies is that older adults show an alteration in the recruitment of the amygdala, but greater recruitment of the frontal cortex. These Fronto-amygdalar Age-related Differences in Emotion (FADE) may reflect emotional regulation strategies mediated by frontal brain regions that dampen emotion-related activations in the amygdala. (JINS, 2009, 15, 819–825.)

Keywords

fMRIAffectFrontal cortexAmygdalaOlder adultsEmotional regulation
Type
Short Review
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 15 , Issue 6 , November 2009 , pp. 819 - 825
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2009

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