汉语口语产生中的认知年老化及其神经机制

具备流畅的口语表达能力对于日常生活中的交流是至关重要的。研究发现老年人比青年人更多地出现不能提取熟悉单词的认知年老化现象。国内对认知老化的研究多集中于加工速度、工作记忆资源和执行功能衰退等方面，对口语产生中认知年老化的研究甚少，亟待开展。本项目利用行为反应时、错误特征分析和脑成像技术，利用汉字不同于印欧语系的特点，从行为、生理和神经活动三个层面探索汉语口语产生中的认知年老化及其神经机制。研究内容包括：1）汉语口语产生中认知年老化的影响因素及其影响的神经机制；2）口语产生中单词提取失败的认知年老化及其神经机制；3）口语产生中的认知年老化与其它认知能力年老化之间的关系。研究将回答认知年老化和语言产生研究领域的基本科学问题，为认知年老化研究开辟新的研究思路。为改善老年人日常生活中交流能力提供指导性建议，亦有助于早期筛查老年人的认知障碍并进行早期干预。

Speaking and writing are human's basic and important skills in ordinary life. Experimental findings and older adults' reports of their own experience suggest that the cognitive aging of speech production in aged groups.Most studies of aging focus on how processing speed, working memory and executive control affect the older adults' performance in China, relatively less work has been devoted to the aging of language production. We plan to combine the behavioral data, error analysis, and brain imaging technology to answer the following questions: (1) What are the important factors affect aging of speech production in language Chinese? (2) What is the nature of word finding failures (i.e., Tip of the Tongue, TOT) in speech production? (3) What is the relationship between the aging of speech production and the aging of other general cognitive abilities (i.e., processing speed, working memory span, and executive control)? We hope to answer crucial questions in the domains of cognitive aging and language production. Furthermore, according to the project's findings, we want to give suggestions to older adults how to improve the quality of communication, and to detect the early mild cognitive impairment in older adults.