Table 1.
Summary of neuroimaging studies showing age-related differences in prefrontal cortex activity to negative vs. neutral stimuli
| Study | Stimulus | Task | Contrast | Age effects | BA | x | y | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roalf et al. [49] | IAPS pictures (positive, negative, or neutral) | passively viewing | [negative > neutral] | OA > YA | −34 | 14 | 32 | |
| Williams et al. [48] | faces(fear, happy, or neutral) | passively viewing | [negative > neutral] | OA > YA | 8 | −18 | 25 | 42 |
| OA > YA | 8 | 6 | 40 | 44 | ||||
| Murty et al. [38] | IAPS pictures (negative or neutral) | indoor-outdoor judgment | [negative > neutral] | OA > YA | 10 | −26 | 50 | 15 |
| IAPS pictures (negative or neutral) | recognition task | [negative > neutral] | OA > YA | 46 | 44 | 24 | 25 | |
| IAPS pictures (negative or neutral) | recognition task | [negative > neutral] | OA > YA | 24 | 6 | 4 | 36 | |
| Tessitore et al. [27] | faces (fear or angry) or geometric shapes | facial expression matching task or sensorimotor task | [negative-neutral] | OA > YA | 9 | −36 | 15 | 22 |
| OA > YA | 44/45 | 32 | 15 | 22 | ||||
| OA > YA | 8 | −10 | 31 | 40 | ||||
| St. Jacques et al. [34] | IAPS pictures (negative or neutral) | valence rating | [negative R-negative F] > [neutral R-neutral F] | OA > YA | 9 | −43 | 27 | 36 |
| St. Jacques et al. [33] | IAPS pictures (negative or neutral) | valence rating | [negative > neutral] | OA > YA | 6 | 33 | 0 | 57 |
| OA > YA | 9 | 2 | 28 | 39 | ||||
| Fischer et al. [35] | faces (fearful or neutral) | fear or neutral judgment | [negative R-negative F] > [neutral R-neutral F] | OA > YA | 9 | 23 | 36 | 35 |
| Erk et al. [25] | cues predicting IAPS pictures (negative, positive, or neutral) | anticipating a picture corresponding to the valence of the cue | [negative > neutral] | YA > OA | 32 | −4 | 42 | 0 |
| IAPS pictures (positive, negative or neutral) | passively viewing | [negative > neutral] | YA > OA | 46 | 52 | 22 | 20 | |
| Williams et al. [48] | faces(fear, happy, or neutral) | passively viewing | [negative > neutral] | YA > OA | 8 | −18 | 25 | 42 |
| YA > OA | 8 | 6 | 40 | 44 | ||||
| St. Jacques et al. [34] | IAPS pictures (negative or neutral) | valence rating | [negative R-negative F] > [neutral R-neutral F] | YA > OA | 6 | −26 | −6 | 44 |
| YA > OA | 9 | −15 | 31 | 30 | ||||
| YA > OA | 6 | 9 | 16 | 52 | ||||
| YA > OA | 6 | 12 | −11 | 57 | ||||
R = Remembered; F = forgotten; YA = younger adults; OA = older adults; BA = Brodmann area. Coordinates are in MNI space and plotted infigure 1.