# Frontal theta as a mechanism of aging-related differences in cognitive control

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2020 · $67,610

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Aging is associated with declines in cognitive control, the mental process that facilitates goal-
oriented behaviors. Declining cognitive control affects older adults' ability to have healthy and productive
personal and professional interactions, which decreases quality of life and increases hospitalization and
mortality rates. There are currently few effective therapies to treat age-related declines in cognitive
control. Thus, there is an unmet need to develop new treatments for aging-related cognitive decline.
However, there is a gap in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of aging-related cognitive
decline.
 Cognitive control is associated with coordinated patterns of brain activity across a network of
brain regions that includes the frontal cortex. In particular, low-frequency oscillations in the theta
frequency band (4-7 hz) in the frontal cortex have been shown to be important for cognitive control. The
overall goal of the proposed research is to identify how aging affects these circuit mechanisms. My
overall hypothesis is that the medial region of the frontal cortex oscillates at theta-band frequency to
support cognitive control, and attenuated midfrontal cortex theta oscillations in older adults accounts for
aging-related differences in cognitive control.
 I will employ two distinct experimental designs to test this overall hypothesis. First, I will test the
hypothesis that theta oscillations in the medial regions of the frontal cortex demonstrate task-relevant
theta power to a great extent than lateral regions in the frontal cortex. I will test this hypothesis using
human intraoperative recordings during intracranial surgeries in cognitively-intact Parkinson's disease
and essential tremor patients. Second, I will examine brain activity of both young and older adults as they
complete two tasks designed to engage cognitive control. Here I will test the hypothesis that aging-
related differences in cognitive control correspond to reduced theta oscillations in the frontal cortex. This
hypothesis predicts that theta-band oscillations will be lower in older adults compared to young adults,
and reduced theta oscillations will be associated with worse cognitive control.
 Together, the proposed experiments will contribute to a model establishing how changes in large-
scale oscillatory dynamics in precise regions of the frontal cortex correspond to aging-related declines in
cognitive control. An outcome of the data from this proposal is expected to be knowledge of candidate
targets for therapies for cognitive impairment. This is highly relevant for aging and for aging-related
disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease and other Alzheimer's disease-related dementias and
Parkinson's disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10065779
- **Project number:** 1F32AG069445-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Rachel Amelia Clark Cole
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $67,610
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10065779

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10065779, Frontal theta as a mechanism of aging-related differences in cognitive control (1F32AG069445-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10065779. Licensed CC0.

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