Differential development of the ventral visual cortex extends through adolescence.
Differential development of the ventral visual cortex extends through adolescence.
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DOI：
10.3389/neuro.09.080.2009
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发表时间：
2010-01-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Grill-Spector, Kalanit
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Golarai, Golijeh;Liberman, Alina;Grill-Spector, Kalanit
人类的腹侧颞叶皮层 (VTC) 包括功能明确的区域，这些区域优先对物体、面部和地点做出反应。最近的发育研究表明，梭状回的面部选择性区域（“梭状面部区域”，FFA）经历了长时间的发育，其体积在 7 岁后大幅增加。然而，这种发展的终点尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用功能磁共振成像 (fMRI) 检查青少年（12-16 岁）和成人（18-40 岁）VTC 中面部、物体和位置选择性区域的发育情况。我们发现，成人右侧梭状回的面部选择性激活量明显大于青少年，并且与年龄呈正相关。这种发展与 VTC 面部选择性区域中面部的更高反应幅度和选择性以及整个 VTC 中面部刺激与非面部刺激的分布式反应模式的差异化增加有关。此外，右侧 FFA 大小与面部识别记忆性能呈正相关，但与物体或地点的识别记忆无关。相比之下，物体和地点选择性皮层区域的体积或其反应幅度在这些年龄组中没有变化。因此，我们发现青春期期间 VTC 的面部选择性有显着且长期的发展，这与面部识别记忆的熟练程度特别相关。这些发现对 VTC 的发展和功能专业化理论具有重要意义。
The ventral temporal cortex (VTC) in humans includes functionally defined regions that preferentially respond to objects, faces, and places. Recent developmental studies suggest that the face selective region in the fusiform gyrus ('fusiform face area', FFA) undergoes a prolonged development involving substantial increases in its volume after 7 years of age. However, the endpoint of this development is not known. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the development of face-, object- and place selective regions in the VTC of adolescents (12-16 year olds) and adults (18-40 year olds). We found that the volume of face selective activations in the right fusiform gyrus was substantially larger in adults than in adolescents, and was positively correlated with age. This development was associated with higher response amplitudes and selectivity for faces in face selective regions of VTC and increased differentiation of the distributed response patterns to faces versus non-face stimuli across the entire VTC. Furthermore, right FFA size was positively correlated with face recognition memory performance, but not with recognition memory of objects or places. In contrast, the volume of object- and place selective cortical regions or their response amplitudes did not change across these age groups. Thus, we found a striking and prolonged development of face selectivity across the VTC during adolescence that was specifically associated with proficiency in face recognition memory. These findings have important implications for theories of development and functional specialization in VTC.