ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging
Sec. Healthy Longevity
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fragi.2025.1458692
This article is part of the Research TopicMachine Learning-Driven Insights into Cognitive Aging and Behavioral ChangesView all articles
Right Hemisphere Engagement in Language Abilities in Older Adults: Indication of Compensation Rather Than Decline
Provisionally accepted
Daniel Solomons1
Maria Rodriguez-Fernandez1
Francisco Mery1
LEONARDO ARRAÑO1
David Toloza1,2
Francisco Sahli Costabal1
Carolina Mendez-Orellana1,3*- 1Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- 2Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile
- 3Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Introduction -Structural brain changes during aging have been used as a specific marker to distinguish normal aging from dementia. Changes in specific cognitive abilities such as episodic memory, processing speed and executive functions are seen in healthy aging. Limited evidence reports changes in linguistic functions alongside structural and functional brain changes. This study investigates correlations between language performance, grey matter volume (GMV) and neural activity in language regions, adjusted by demographic in healthy older adults.Methods -Twenty-seven right-handed participants aged 60-87 were evaluated with overall measurement of linguistic performance with Spanish version of test ScreeLing (SCL) and phonological and semantic verbal fluency tasks (PF and SF). Participants also underwent an MRI session in which they performed a functional MRI phonological language task. T1-weighted MRI scans were used to measure GMV in specific language-related regions and were used to assess language lateralization. Correlational analyses were conducted between language scores, GMV, years of education, age, sex, and fMRI lateralization.Results -In the right hemisphere, significant positive correlations were found between SCL scores and GMV in the orbital inferior frontal gyrus (r = 0.5402, p = 0.0044) and superior temporal gyrus (r = 0.516, p = 0.007). Furthermore, SCL and FAS scores positively correlated with years of education, indicating that higher education enhances speech performance. No significant correlations were found in the left hemisphere. Age, sex, and fMRI lateralization did not significantly correlate with specific linguistic scores.Discussion -These results challenge the current view of the role of the right hemisphere in language performance, as increased GMV in specific right hemisphere language regions are associated with better language performance, highlighting the role of right-hemispheric supporting language skills during healthy aging.
Keywords: grey matter volume, Language performance, MRI, hemispheric specialization, Ageing
Received: 02 Jul 2024; Accepted: 29 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Solomons, Rodriguez-Fernandez, Mery, ARRAÑO, Toloza, Sahli Costabal and Mendez-Orellana. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Carolina Mendez-Orellana, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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