A better connected brain relates to lower dogmatism in young and older adults

BACKGROUND: Cognitive flexibility represents a crucial function in adapting to new environments. In this study we examined the ecological validity of a cognitive flexibility task by studying its relationship with individual traits (dogmatism, dependence on routines and perspective taking). Second, we investigated whether global and local structural brain connectivity properties were related to cognitive flexibility as well as associated traits and their possible age-related differences. METHOD: Thirty-eight young (18-35 years) and thirty-seven older (60-85 years) healthy participants took part in an MRI protocol including a Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) sequence. Participants also performed a Rule-Switching task to measure cognitive flexibility performance and filled in questionnaires assessing dogmatism, dependence on routines and perspective taking. RESULTS: A higher cognitive flexibility was related to lower dogmatism and lower dependence on routines only in young adults. In relation to structural connectivity, we found that: a) global and local connectivity properties negatively predicted dogmatism levels in the full sample, b) local connectivity properties of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) positively predicted performance in cognitive flexibility performance in the full sample and in older adults, and c) connectivity between left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and left putamen negatively predicted dogmatism in older adults. DISCUSSION: A deeper understanding of the shaping of structural networks supports a better understanding of cognitive flexibility and dogmatism in a highly dynamic world.