Domain-Specific Functional Network Adaptations Supporting Dual-Task Performance in Older Adults

Abstract

Aging is associated with declines in both motor and cognitive functions, which are well captured by dual-task gait paradigms. However, the functional brain network mechanisms supporting motor and cognitive aspects of dual-task performance in aging remain unclear. We examined 40 older adults (50-80 years) and 20 younger adults (20-40 years) who performed a motor single-task (pedaling), a cognitive single-task (Go/NoGo), and a combined cognitive-motor dual-task during functional magnetic resonance Imaging (fMRI) using a custom-built MRI-compatible pedaling device. Behaviorally, older adults showed significant dual-task costs in motor performance, while cognitive performance was preserved. Neurally, older adults showed selective increases in connectivity within executive and motor-planning regions of cognitive networks, consistent with compensatory recruitment, whereas motor networks underwent broader reorganization, with strengthened frontoparietal control circuits but weakened cerebello-parietal and sensorimotor pathways. Multivariate analyses further revealed age-related differences in latent connectivity- behavior relationships: motor-network patterns in older adults were more dispersed, reflecting heterogeneous reorganization, whereas cognitive-network patterns were more overlapping across groups, suggesting relative preservation. These findings suggest that aging involves a domain-specific balance of resilience and vulnerability across brain networks and highlight motor-network adaption as a promising target for understanding why some older adults maintain function while others decline.