Abnormal functional activation during response inhibition in mild cognitive impairment: an fMRI study

Background Declines in response inhibition are observed both typical and atypical aging, i.e., mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Increased functional activation in frontoparietal regions during response inhibition has been interpreted to represent the emergence of a compensatory mechanism in older adulthood. While electrophysiology studies suggest the decline in response inhibition in MCI reflects a similar but amplified process as seen in normal aging this has not been examined thoroughly using functional MRI (fMRI). Method 31 cognitively normal older adults (M age = 73.6, 9 male) and 22 adult patients with MCI (M age = 67.2, 14 male) performed a Go/NoGo task during an fMRI scan. Group differences in accuracy and reaction time were examined for Go and NoGo trials. Individual BOLD signal change during task fMRI was examined, then voxel‐wise group comparison was conducted for MCI vs. HC groups, using age, gender, education, and gray matter density as covariates. Permutation‐estimated cluster size at alpha