Attention follows an inverted-U lifespan curve in macaques

In semi-free-ranging macaques living in naturalistic social groups, attentional performance follows an inverted-U trajectory across the lifespan, according to a new preprint. Researchers paired longitudinal behavioral assessments with resting-state fMRI to quantify attention across days, ages, and social hierarchies, relating individual performance directly to intrinsic brain organization. Attentional performance improved from childhood into adulthood before declining with older age. The team also observed distinct attentional phenotypes among the monkeys, including individuals with reduced attentional control, and noted that social status modulated performance. These nonlinear lifespan trajectories and individual variations in attention were most clearly expressed in frontoparietal connectivity networks.