Anti-Saccade Performance Predicts Executive Function and Brain Structure in Normal Elders

Abstract

Objective 

To assess the neuropsychological and anatomical correlates of anti-saccade (AS) task performance in normal elders.

Background 

The AS task correlates with neuropsychological measures of executive function and frontal lobe volume in neurological diseases, but has not been studied in a well-characterized normal elderly population. Because executive dysfunction can indicate an increased risk for cognitive decline in cognitively normal elders, we hypothesized that AS performance might be a sensitive test of age-related processes that impair cognition.

Method 

The percentage of correct AS responses was evaluated in 48 normal elderly subjects and associated with neuropsychological test performance using linear regression analysis and gray matter volume measured on magnetic resonance imaging scans using voxel-based morphometry.

Results 

The percentage of correct AS responses was associated with measures of executive function, including modified trails, design fluency, Stroop inhibition, abstraction, and backward digit span, and correlated with gray matter volume in 2 brain regions involved in inhibitory control: the left inferior frontal junction and the right supplementary eye field. The association of AS correct responses with neuropsychological measures of executive function was strongest in individuals with fewer years of education.

Conclusions 

The AS task is sensitive to executive dysfunction and frontal lobe structural alterations in normal elders.