Human cognitive neuroscience seminar

Speaker: Dr Paul Hoffman

Topic: Knowing more but using it less: How ageing affects representation and control of semantic knowledge

Abstract: Convergent neuropsychological and neuroimaging data indicate that semantic knowledge for words and objects is underpinned by two distinct but interacting systems: (1) a store of knowledge representations and (2) executive control processes that regulate how we retrieve and use that knowledge to meet current goals. Each system can be independently impaired following brain damage, but little is known about how they vary in the healthy population. Specifically: are semantic representation and control abilities correlated with one another? How does semantic control relate to executive function in other domains? How do each of these abilities change in later life? I will present initial results from a study of 100 healthy participants aimed at addressing these questions.