Neuroimaging Language in the Normally Developing Brain

这项拟议的研究将同时使用功能磁共振成像和结构磁共振成像(fMRI和MRI)来开始描绘与7至14岁正常发育儿童高级语言功能紧急情况相关的神经系统。更具体地说，这个试点项目有两个主要目标。首先，我们将使用功能磁共振成像来定性和量化在封闭的正式语言系统(即语音、语义、句法)水平上与语言处理相关的模式或皮质活动的发展变化(就本地化、大小、空间范围和区域间的连通性而言)，以及与其更广泛的交际语境中的语言处理(即韵律、语篇、语用)相关的发展变化。其次，我们将把fMRI观察到的辅助语言处理的神经网络的发育变化与结构MRI评估的脑形态计量(根据区域体积、灰质和白质浓度、形状和不对称性)的年龄相关变化联系起来。这项拟议的横断面研究结果将构成一项纵向研究计划的基石，该计划旨在全面阐明与正常发育儿童成熟语言能力出现相关的神经发展。此外，这些发育发现将为评估与各种发育障碍(如阅读困难、自闭症、早发性精神分裂症)中观察到的语言和沟通障碍相关的脑功能障碍模式提供标准数据。通过描述语言处理、脑功能和脑结构之间的关系，本研究将开始弥合正常发育大脑中语言神经基础上的信息鸿沟。此外，拟议的项目将突出大脑-行为交互的综合性质。在理论层面上，深入了解语言加工的神经基础，特别是它是如何作为学习的一种功能变化和发展的，将启发我们对语言的起源和模块化的思考。

The proposed study will use both functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and MRI) to begin to delineate the neural systems associated with the emergency of high-level linguistic functions in normally developing children, aged 7 to 14. More specifically, this pilot project has two main goals. First, we will use fMRI to qualify and quantify developmental changes in the pattern or cortical activity (in terms of localization, magnitude, spatial extent, and inter-regional connectivity) associated with language processing at the level of closed formal linguistic systems (i.e., phonology, semantics, syntax), as well as with language processing in its broader communicative context (i.e., prosody, discourse, pragmatics). Second, we will relate the developmental changes in the neural networks subserving language processing observed with fMRI, to age-related changes in brain morphometry (in terms of regional volume, gray and white matter concentrations, shape, and asymmetry) as assessed by structural MRI. The findings of the proposed cross-sectional study will form the cornerstone of a longitudinal research program aimed at fully elucidating the neural developments associated with the emergence of mature linguistic competence in normally developing children. Furthermore, these developmental findings will provide normative data for evaluating the patterns of brain dysfunction associated with the linguistic and communicative impairments observed in a variety of developmental disorders (e.g., dyslexia, autism, early-onset schizophrenia). By delineating the relationship among language processing, brain function, and brain structure, this study will begin to bridge the informational gap on the neural basis of language in the normally developing brain. Moreover, the proposed project will highlight how an integrated nature of brain-behavior interactions. At a theoretical level, a deeper understanding of the neural basis of language processing, particularly of how it changes and develops as a function of learning, will enlighten our thinking about the origin and modularity of language.