The development of adaptive memory across early childhood

我们依靠回忆记忆的能力，特别是积极的记忆，来指导我们未来的行为， 它适应于保留显著事件。在成年人中，积极情绪对记忆编码和巩固的影响 已经得到很好的表征，包括选择性地优先考虑中心，突出的信息（“要旨”）， 周边环境和长期保留的转换。小孩子是否同样优先考虑情感 回忆？大脑的结构和功能在整个童年时期经历了广泛而持久的发展， 特别是在4-6岁之间;随着内侧颞叶和杏仁核的成熟持续到早期， 童年，以及与前额叶皮层（PFC）的联系延伸到青春期。但是，如果没有自上而下 从PFC的过程中，孩子们更积极的反应事件。与此同时，早期发展 记忆功能似乎有利于概念知识的获得， 早期依赖于“gist-based”记忆的细节和弱的关系绑定能力似乎反映了 积极情绪记忆的典型效应。因此，不成熟的记忆系统可能 很适合强调记忆的适应功能。然而，很少有研究能证明 不成熟记忆系统中的机制支持正价值记忆。这个目标 一项研究计划是确定这些适应性记忆是如何在儿童早期形成和储存的 并将这些测量与支持脑形态的发育变化模式相关联。 该提案详细描述了两个实验，儿童（4-8岁）和年轻人（18-35岁）使用新的 行为操纵和结构神经成像。在目标1中，我们提出了一个行为实验， 描述在早期记忆中，积极信息是如何选择性地优先于中性信息的。 童年.在目标2中，行为实验将检查组织中的发展差异， 积极记忆的内容。虽然研究表明，与年龄有关的倾向于'gist'记忆，很少 工作系统地测试了发展差异的权衡细节和整合的显着 信息.在探索性目标3中，我们将使用结构神经成像来检查 积极的记忆益处和促进信息处理的白色物质束的成熟。 皮质和皮质下结构。因此，拟议的目标将促进开发新颖的、儿童友好的 行为模式，以确定适应性记忆是如何形成和存储在早期 发展本研究为情绪调节障碍的前因研究提供了基础 儿童的社会和情感技能的发展。

We rely on our ability to recall memories, particularly positive memories, to guide our future behaviors, making it adaptive to retain salient events. In adults, positive emotion's effects on memory encoding and consolidation have been well characterized, including the selective prioritization of central, salient information ('gist'), over peripheral context and transformation for long-term retention. Do young children similarly prioritize emotional memories? Brain structure and function undergoes extensive, protracted development across childhood, particularly between ages 4-6; with maturation of the medial temporal lobe and amygdala continuing into early childhood, and connections to prefrontal cortex (PFC) extending into adolescence. However, without top-down processes from PFC, children are more reactive to positive events. At the same time, early developing mnemonic functions seem developmentally advantageous for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge, and an early reliance on 'gist'-based memory over fine details and weak relational binding ability seem to mirror characteristic effects of positive emotional memory. It is therefore possible that the immature memory system is well suited to emphasize the adaptive functions of memory. Yet, critically little work has tested how mechanisms in the immature memory system support positively-valanced memories. The goal of this proposal is to determine how these adaptive memories are formed and stored across early childhood and to relate these measures to the pattern of developmental changes in supporting brain morphology. This proposal details two experiments with children (4-8 years old) and young adults (18-35) utilizing novel behavioral manipulations and structural neuroimaging. In Aim 1, we propose a behavioral experiment to characterize how positive information is selectively prioritized over neutral information in memory in early childhood. In Aim 2, a behavioral experiment will examine developmental differences in the organization and content of positive memories. While research has shown an age-related tendency towards 'gist'-memory, little work has systematically tested developmental differences in the trade-off of details and integration for salient information. In an exploratory Aim 3, we will use structural neuroimaging to examine the relationship between positive memory benefits and the maturation of white matter tracts that facilitate information processing across cortical and sub-cortical structures. The proposed aims will therefore advance the development of novel, childfriendly behavioral paradigms to determine how adaptive memories are formed and stored across early development. This research will provide the foundation to study the antecedents of emotion dysregulation disorders and inform practices for developing socio-emotional skills in early childhood.