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

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.