Evaluating performance on older individuals using a fMRI protocol for Wisconsin Card Sorting Task

Abstract

This paper describes an fMRI study with 76 middle-aged and older subjects using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, widely utilized to investigate executive function and frontal lobe dysfunction. Several cognitive processes involved in the task are correlated with the cognitive decline observed due to aging. With functional imaging we demonstrate that subjects with a better performance show an increased activation in the frontal lobe and cingulate cortex, which are important regions for the processes involved in the task.