Although global declines in structure have been documented in the aging human brain, little is known about the functional integrity of the striatum and prefrontal cortex in older adults during incentive processing. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether younger and older adults differed in both self-reported and neural responsiveness to anticipated monetary gains and losses. The present study provides evidence for intact striatal and insular activation during gain anticipation with age, but shows a relative reduction in activation during loss anticipation. These findings suggest that there is an asymmetry in the processing of gains and losses in older adults that may have implications for decision-making.Over the past several decades, scientists have made rapid progress toward determining the effects of aging on cognition. Both behavioral and neuroimaging studies show that there is a strong negative relationship between age and cognitive performance across many types of tasks 1,2 . However, a growing body of research also suggests that many affective abilities do not decline with age, and that in some cases they may improve. Accumulating behavioral evidence suggests that older adults perform relatively better on tasks that involve the processing of emotional stimuli 3 . Socioemotional selectivity theory postulates that age-related attempts to optimize emotional well-being 4 generate increased positive emotional experiences and/or decreased negative emotional experiences over the life span 5 . To date, however, very few neuroimaging studies have focused on changes in emotion with age 6,7 , with only one prior study examining changes in incentive processing over the life span 8 .Studies of brain structure and chemistry provide some evidence for age-related decline. These studies have specifically shown significant structural atrophy of the caudate, insula and prefrontal cortex, as well as global declines in dopamine receptors in the striatum and the
Interoception refers to the representation of the internal world, and includes the processes by which an organism senses, interprets, integrates, and regulates signals from within itself.The brain communicates with internal organs via the peripheral nervous system and non-neuronal systems.
The goal of the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program is to provide the basis for an experimental medicine approach to behavior change that focuses on identifying and measuring the mechanisms that underlie behavioral patterns we are trying to change. This paper frames the development of the program within a discussion of the substantial disease burden in the U.S. attributable to behavioral factors, and details our strategies for breaking down the disease- and condition-focused silos in the behavior change field to accelerate discovery and translation. These principles serve as the foundation for our vision for a unified science of behavior change at the NIH and in the broader research community.
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