Figure 4. Reduced control energy in both the a, left and b, right mid-cingulate cortex was associated with higher executive performance.

Of all brain regions examined, only the left and right mid-cingulate cortex survived FDR correction. Data points represent each subject (n = 944), the bold line indicates the best linear fit, and the shaded envelope denotes the 95% confidence interval.The yellow color indicates that the two regions belong to the fronto-parietal system (Figure 1—figure supplement 2). The control energy of both (c) left and (d) right mid-cingulate cortex partially mediates the improvement of executive function with age. Significance of mediation effect was assessed using bootstrapped confidence intervals.