Abstract: Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a promising technique to
study the connectivity among brain regions and effects of stimuli
through modeling neuronal interactions from time-series
neuroimaging. The aim of this study is to study characteristics of a
mirror neuron system (MNS) in elderly group (age: 60-70 years old).
Twenty volunteers were MRI scanned with visual stimuli to study a
functional brain network. DCM was employed to determine the
mechanism of mirror neuron effects. The results revealed major
activated areas including precentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule,
inferior occipital gyrus, and supplementary motor area. When visual
stimuli were presented, the feed-forward connectivity from visual
area to conjunction area was increased and forwarded to motor area.
Moreover, the connectivity from the conjunction areas to premotor
area was also increased. Such findings can be useful for future
diagnostic process for elderly with diseases such as Parkinson-s and
Alzheimer-s.