Cognitive Aging and Cerebellum: a task fMRI study of the older adults

Motivation: Research on cognitive aging largely focus on the cortex, with limited attention to the cerebellum's role. Recent findings suggest cerebellar involvement in various cognitive functions. Goal(s): To explore age-related differences in cerebellar activation during cognitive tasks, hypothesizing that cognitive cerebellum map is different from the young to the old. Approach: Task-based fMRI was used to compare cerebellar BOLD signals in 11 participants (4 old, 7 young) during motor, language, working memory, and visuospatial tasks. Results: The young adults showed higher cerebellar activation in motor tasks. However, old adults had increased activation in language and working memory tasks, suggesting compensatory cerebellar involvement in aging. Impact: This study highlights the cerebellum's potential role in compensating for cognitive decline in aging. Identifying cerebellar activation patterns across tasks could advance our understanding of brain aging mechanisms and inform strategies to support cognitive resilience in the older adults.