Prefrontal cortical activation associated with working memory in adults and preschool children: an event-related optical topography study.
Prefrontal cortical activation associated with working memory in adults and preschool children: an event-related optical topography study.
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DOI：
10.1093/cercor/bhh030
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发表时间：
2004-07
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
S. Tsujimoto;Tsuyoshi Yamamoto;H. Kawaguchi;H. Koizumi;T. Sawaguchi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
S. Tsujimoto;Tsuyoshi Yamamoto;H. Kawaguchi;H. Koizumi;T. Sawaguchi
众所周知，前额叶皮层（LPFC）的侧区在工作记忆（各种认知功能的关键基础）中起着核心作用，但学龄前儿童的LPFC是否负责工作记忆仍然是未知的。为了解决这个问题，我们采用了最近开发的非侵入性成像技术，光学地形图（OT），它可以潜在地应用于儿童的功能映射。我们首先研究了在不同的记忆负荷条件下，当成年受试者执行一个需要工作记忆的项目再认任务时，使用OT的LPFC活动的变化。我们观察到激活在执行这项任务，其幅度取决于记忆负荷的双边LPFC。然后，我们将同样的技术应用于5岁和6岁的儿童，观察LPFC中与工作记忆相关的激活。成人和学龄前儿童的这种活动的领域和性质是相似的。因此，第一次，我们证明，学龄前儿童的LPFC是活跃的工作记忆过程中，这表明在5- 6岁的儿童，LPFC已经开发了处理这一重要的认知功能。
It is well known that lateral areas of the prefrontal cortex (LPFC) play a central role in working memory (a critical basis of various cognitive functions), but it remains unknown whether the LPFC of children of preschool age is responsible for working memory. To address this issue, we adopted a recently developed non-invasive imaging technique, optical topography (OT), which can potentially be applied to functional mapping in childhood. We firstly examined changes of activity in the LPFC using OT while adult subjects performed an item-recognition task, which requires working memory, under different memory-load conditions. We observed activation in the bilateral LPFC during performance of this task, the magnitude of which differed depending on memory-load. Then, we applied the same technique on 5- and 6-year-old children and observed the activation associated with working memory in the LPFC. Areas and properties of such activity were similar in adults and preschool children. Thus, for the first time, we demonstrate that the LPFC of preschoolers is active during working memory processes, indicating that in 5- and 6-year-old children, the LPFC has already developed processing of this important cognitive function.