Age-related changes in brain responses to personally known faces: an event-related potential (ERP) study in humans

Midlife period has not been investigated so far regarding associations between brain responses and spared abilities for face processing. This study examines the effects of midlife aging on behavioural performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) during the perception of personally known faces. Ten middle-aged adults (aged 45-60) and 12 young adults (aged 20-30) performed a visual discrimination task based on the detection of modified eye colours. We found that this task was performed as accurately by middle-aged as by young adults. However. midlife aging is associated with specific ERP latency delays and important changes in scalp ERP distribution. These results -interpreted according to a compensation hypothesis- provide enlightening indications showing that, compared to young adults, the changes in brain activities observed in middle-aged adults may contribute to their maintained behavioural performance. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.