Effects of posterior-anterior shift in the aging brain on creativity : A combined ICA and resting-state fMRI study

There is converging evidence that cognitive aging is associated with significant changes in functional connectivity between various regions of the aging brain. In the present study, we employed the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) technique and independent component analysis (ICA) approach to examine whether and how posterior-anterior shift in aging (i.e., PASA) in functional connectivity of various resting-state networks (RSNs) relates to individual differences in creative ability in the elderly. Group-ICA of RSNs from 34 healthy old adults and 21 young adults were performed to identify default mode network (DMN), executive-control network (ECN), temporal-occipital network, and cerebellar network. Each participant’s creative assessment questionnaire (CAQ) score was used as a covariate to examine the association between mental ability of creativity and functional connectivity of RSNs. The rs-fMRI results demonstrated the stronger connectivity of prefrontal gyri whereas reduced connectivity of temporal-occipital regions for the older adults, consistent with the notion of PASA. Moreover, individual variations in CAQ scores were related to the patterns of PASA in older but not in young adults. Our findings provide the neuroimaging evidence that age-related changes in creative ability may be associated with a posterior-to-anterior gradient of declines in functional connectivity of the aging brain.