Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40925803›Full record

SynthesisScience bulletin2025

The lifespan trajectories of brain activities related to conflict-driven cognitive control.

Zhenghan Li, Isaac T Petersen, Lingxiao Wang, Joaquim Radua, Guochun Yang, Xun Liu

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Science bulletin, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Zhenghan LiZhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Institute of Brain Science and Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Department of Psychology, Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China.
Isaac T PetersenDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Lingxiao WangCentre for Cognition and Brain Disorders/Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou 311121, China.
Joaquim RaduaInstitut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Spain; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm 17177, Sweden.
Guochun YangGuangdong Institute of Intelligence Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519031, China; Cognitive Control Collaborative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: yangguochun@gdiist.cn.
Xun LiuInstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China.

Funding

Cognitive Control in the Development of School Readiness in Early ChildhoodR01HD098235 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · PI PETERSEN, ISAAC T · 2020 to 2024
$1.6M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD098235
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive control is fundamental to human goal-directed behavior. Understanding its trajectory across the lifespan is crucial for optimizing cognitive function throughout life, particularly during periods of rapid development and decline. While existing studies have revealed an inverted U-shaped trajectory of cognitive control in both behavioral and anatomical domains, the age-related changes in functional brain activities remain poorly understood. To bridge this gap, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 139 neuroimaging studies using conflict tasks, encompassing 3765 participants aged 5 to 85 years. We adopted the seed-based d mapping (SDM), generalized additive model (GAM), and model comparison approaches to investigate age-related changes in brain activities to characterize the lifespan trajectories of cognitive control. Our analyses revealed two key findings: (1) The predominant lifespan trajectory is inverted U-shaped, rising from childhood to peak in young adulthood (between 27 and 36 years) before declining in later adulthood; (2) Both the youth and the elderly show weaker brain activities and greater left laterality than young adults. These results collectively reveal the lifespan trajectories of cognitive control, highlighting systematic fluctuations in brain activities with age.

Indexed as

AgingBrainCognitionConflict, PsychologicalAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBrain MappingChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansLongevityMaleMiddle AgedBrain activitiesCognitive controlInverted U-shapeLifespan trajectoriesNeuroimaging meta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID40925803
PMCPMC12435917

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.