Mapping Prefrontal Cortex Functions in Human Infancy
Mapping Prefrontal Cortex Functions in Human Infancy
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DOI：
10.1111/infa.12016
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发表时间：
2013-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Grossmann, Tobias
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Grossmann, Tobias
长期以来，人们一直认为前额皮质作为大多数高级大脑功能的所在地，在婴儿期的大部分时间里在功能上处于沉默状态。这篇综述重点介绍了有关人类婴儿大脑激活的精确映射（定位）的最新研究，提供了前额皮质比之前认为的更早表现出功能激活的证据。主要基于功能近红外光谱的神经影像学研究中的激活模式的系统评估表明，前额叶皮层功能可以大致分为两个具有不同功能特性的不同解剖簇。一簇激活属于内侧前额叶皮层区域，主要涉及情感过程；另一个簇位于前额皮质的侧面，对记忆和注意力等认知过程表现出敏感性。这种区别符合成人数据和进化模型，可能代表了前额皮质功能的发育连续组织原则。总而言之，本综述旨在综合利用婴儿神经影像技术所出现的新发现，并鼓励进一步的理论驱动研究，以了解前额皮质功能的发育起源。
It has long been thought that the prefrontal cortex, as the seat of most higher brain functions, is functionally silent during most of infancy. This review highlights recent work concerned with the precise mapping (localization) of brain activation in human infants, providing evidence that prefrontal cortex exhibits functional activation much earlier than previously thought. A systematic evaluation of the activation patterns in these neuroimaging studies mainly based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy reveals that prefrontal cortex function can be broadly divided into two distinct anatomical clusters with different functional properties. One cluster of activations falls within the region of the medial prefrontal cortex and is mainly involved in affective processes; another cluster is located in lateral aspects of the prefrontal cortex and shows sensitivity to cognitive processes such as memory and attention. This distinction is in line with adult data and evolutionary models and may represent a developmentally continuous organization principle of prefrontal cortex function. All in all, this review is aimed at providing a synthesis of new findings that are emerging from the use of neuroimaging techniques with infants as well as at encouraging further theory-driven research to understand the developmental origins of prefrontal cortex function.