NEURAL COMPENSATION DURING INFORMATION PROCESSING IN NORMAL COGNITIVE AGING: A FOCUSED TASK-BASED FMRI REVIEW

Ivan Sitnikov; Radka Massaldjieva; Hristo Manev; Penka Atanassova

doi:10.35120/medisij0503155s

Authors

Ivan Sitnikov Department of Neurology, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria Clinic of Neurology, UMHAT “St George”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria Author
Radka Massaldjieva Department of Health Care Management, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria Author
Hristo Manev Department of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria Research Institute, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria Author
Penka Atanassova Department of Neurology, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria Clinic of Neurology, UMHAT “St George”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35120/medisij0503155s

Keywords:

normal cognitive aging, neural compensation, semantic processing, task-based fMRI, cognitive control

Abstract

Normal cognitive aging is heterogeneous. Processing speed, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and executive control often decline with age. Semantic knowledge is usually better preserved. Task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can show how neural recruitment changes before overt cognitive impairment. This focused review examines task-based fMRI studies in cognitively healthy middle-aged and older adults. The main domains are semantic retrieval, working memory, interference control, response inhibition, and set shifting. Evidence was identified through PubMed/MEDLINE searches through 22 July 2026, targeted searches for recent task-fMRI studies, and backward and forward citation tracking. Across domains, older adults show changes in prefrontal lateralization, earlier recruitment of dorsolateral prefrontal and frontoparietal regions, and lower segregation between control and default-mode systems. These findings do not always indicate compensation. Working-memory studies support load-dependent compensation under some conditions. Stroop, Trail Making, and cognitive-control studies also show reduced task responsiveness and dedifferentiation. Semantic tasks provide a useful contrast because core semantic regions are often preserved while control-network recruitment changes with task demand. Vascular aging is a particular constraint, because age-related changes in cerebrovascular reactivity and in the hemodynamic response can produce apparent over-recruitment in the absence of any change in neuronal computation. In line with established frameworks, compensation is treated as a task-specific and demand-sensitive fMRI change associated with preserved or better performance. Hyperactivation without behavioral benefit may reflect effort, neural inefficiency, dedifferentiation, or altered neurovascular coupling. Current evidence supports a performance-based, network-level model of compensation. Longitudinal studies, vascular calibration, standardized tasks, and better test-retest reliability are needed before task-fMRI measures can be used as individual biomarkers of successful cognitive aging.

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