Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain
Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1208243109
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发表时间：
2012-11-27
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Dale, Anders M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fjell, Anders M.;Walhovd, Kristine Beate;Dale, Anders M.
自我调节是指控制行为、认知和情绪的能力，自我调节失败与一系列神经精神问题有关。人们对大脑结构的成熟是如何在童年时期逐渐改善自我调节的还知之甚少。在一项大规模的多中心研究中，735名儿童（4-21岁）接受了结构MRI，用于定量皮质厚度和表面积，并接受了弥散张量成像，用于定量主要纤维连接的质量。大脑发育与认知控制的标准化测量有关（美国国立卫生研究院的侧翼任务），这是自我调节的关键组成部分。抑制反应和施加认知控制的能力在青春期前迅速增加。前扣带皮层的表面积在认知表现的差异中占了很大的比例。这一发现是有趣的，因为前扣带的特征被证明与神经发育障碍中的冲动、注意力和执行问题有关，表明自我调节能力的神经基础沿着从正常到病理的连续体。这种关系在年龄较小的儿童中最强。大纤维连接的特性通过解释认知控制中的额外差异而被添加到图片中。虽然认知控制与前扣带回的表面积相关，独立于心理速度的基本过程，但白色物质质量与认知控制之间的关系可以完全用速度来解释。这些结果强调了整合大脑成熟的不同方面以了解认知发展基础的必要性。
Self-regulation refers to the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotions, and self-regulation failure is related to a range of neuropsychiatric problems. It is poorly understood how structural maturation of the brain brings about the gradual improvement in self-regulation during childhood. In a large-scale multicenter effort, 735 children (4-21 y) underwent structural MRI for quantification of cortical thickness and surface area and diffusion tensor imaging for quantification of the quality of major fiber connections. Brain development was related to a standardized measure of cognitive control (the flanker task from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox), a critical component of self-regulation. Ability to inhibit responses and impose cognitive control increased rapidly during preteen years. Surface area of the anterior cingulate cortex accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in cognitive performance. This finding is intriguing, because characteristics of the anterior cingulum are shown to be related to impulse, attention, and executive problems in neurodevelopmental disorders, indicating a neural foundation for self-regulation abilities along a continuum from normality to pathology. The relationship was strongest in the younger children. Properties of large-fiber connections added to the picture by explaining additional variance in cognitive control. Although cognitive control was related to surface area of the anterior cingulate independently of basic processes of mental speed, the relationship between white matter quality and cognitive control could be fully accounted for by speed. The results underscore the need for integration of different aspects of brain maturation to understand the foundations of cognitive development.