IF A 50 YR OLD AND A 25 YR OLD WERE TOLD TO RECALL A LIST OF WORDS, WHAT DIFFERENCE IN BRAIN ACTIVITY WOULD EXPECT?

All other things being equal, the accuracy of recall would be about the same, but it would depend greatly on what the words were. With healthy individuals and equal familiarity of the words, I would not expect any significant brain differences.

However, I am not a neurologist. Since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "brain memory words age" to get these possible sources:

http://www.psychologymatters.org/memchanges.html
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/seniors/common-older/124.html
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/121/5/861
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=partial-recall-why-memory-fades
http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/markus.htm

There are more sites available. In the future, you can find the information you desire more quickly, if you use appropriate key words to do your own search. Also see http://hanlib.sou.edu/searchtools/.

I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.

To understand the potential differences in brain activity between a 50-year-old and a 25-year-old during a word recall task, we can consider the following factors:

1. Neural Plasticity: As we age, there is a general decline in neural plasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize itself and form new connections. This could affect the ability of a 50-year-old to recall new information compared to a 25-year-old.

2. Memory Performance: Older adults often experience age-related changes in their memory capabilities. While some aspects of memory, such as semantic memory (knowledge about facts and concepts), tend to remain stable or even improve with age, other aspects, such as episodic memory (memory for specific events), may decline.

3. Brain Structure: Aging is associated with structural changes in the brain, including reductions in gray matter volume and overall brain mass. These changes can impact cognitive functions, including memory recall. Older adults might show different patterns of brain activity compared to younger individuals performing the same task.

4. Functional Brain Imaging: To directly observe and measure the differences in brain activity between a 50-year-old and a 25-year-old during a word recall task, functional brain imaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or electroencephalography (EEG) can be used. These techniques provide insights into the brain regions involved and the patterns of neural activity during cognitive tasks.

In summary, while it is difficult to pinpoint exact differences without specific research data, factors like neural plasticity, memory performance, brain structure, and functional brain imaging can help us understand and potentially identify variations in brain activity between a 50-year-old and a 25-year-old during a word recall task.