Alpha-theta effects associated with ageing during the Stroop test

PLoS One. 2014 May 27;9(5):e95657. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095657. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The Stroop effect is considered as a standard attentional measure to study conflict resolution in humans. The response of the brain to conflict is supposed to change over time and it is impaired in certain pathological conditions. Neuropsychological Stroop test measures have been complemented with electroencephalography (EEG) techniques to evaluate the mechanisms in the brain that underlie conflict resolution from the age of 20 to 70. To study the changes in EEG activity during life, we recruited a large sample of healthy subjects of different ages that included 90 healthy individuals, divided by age into decade intervals, which performed the Stroop test while recording a 14 channel EEG. The results highlighted an interaction between age and stimulus that was focused on the prefrontal (Alpha and Theta band) and Occipital (Alpha band) areas. We concluded that behavioural Stroop interference is directly influenced by opposing Alpha and Theta activity and evolves across the decades of life.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Alpha Rhythm / physiology*
  • Brain / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Stroop Test*
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Theta Rhythm / physiology*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by BIO-MED 07/01/0006 (IRENE project, D.G. de Investigación, Region of Murcia, Spain) to CN, PHARMACOG-European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007–2013) for the Innovative Medicine Initiative under Grant Agreement No. 115009 and CIBERNED (Spanish Network of Research on Neurodegeneratives Diseases) to MTH and AAL actions from the Spanish Ministry of Industry (EXOLEGS project) to JLC and TG. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.