The ageing stopping network: Regional and network changes in the IFG, preSMA, and STN across the adult lifespan

Response inhibition, the cancellation of planned movement, is essential for everyday motor control. Extensive fMRI and brain stimulation research provides evidence for the crucial role of a number of cortical and subcortical regions in response inhibition, including the subthalamic nucleus (STN), pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA), and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Current models assume that these regions operate as a network, with action cancellation originating in the cortical areas and then executed rapidly via the subcortex. Response inhibition slows in older age, a change that has been attributed to deterioration or changes in the connectivity and integrity of this network. However, previous research has mainly used whole-brain approaches when investigating changes in structural connectivity across the lifespan, or have used simpler measures to investigate structural ageing. Here, we used high-resolution quantitative and diffusion MRI to extensively examine the anatomical changes that occur in this network across the lifespan. We found substantial changes in iron concentration in these tracts, increases in the apparent diffusion coefficient, and some evidence for demyelination. Conversely, we found very little evidence for age-related anatomical changes in the regions themselves. We propose that some of the functional changes observed in these regions in older adult populations (e.g., increased BOLD recruitment) are a reflection of alterations to the connectivity between the regions, rather than localised regional change.