Developmental change in visuospatial processes: RT-fMRI

描述（由申请人提供）：尽管已经有大量的工作记录了空间认知处理中的行为变化，但对调节这些功能的神经系统的发展知之甚少。功能磁共振成像技术的最新进展使我们能够提出有关行为改变和相关大脑系统变化之间关系的关键问题：说特定的大脑区域调节或将要调节某些类型的处理是什么意思？神经承诺的模式是如何在发育过程中出现的？具体来说，神经系统的发展在多大程度上反映了行为数据中观察到的变化概况？本研究的主要目标是记录空间认知功能、视觉模式处理的基本方面的发育变化与调节这些功能的大脑系统——枕侧颞叶系统的变化之间的关系。提出了三个系列的研究。首先，研究腹侧视觉系统功能组织的发育变化，探索沿颞叶腹侧表面分类特定信息的神经组织。第二个研究方向是研究空间模式分析中涉及的基本认知过程的半球侧化模式的变化，重点是可分离的结构或整体水平加工和特征或局部水平加工。第三部分研究了大脑半球间信息交换的调节，研究了与全球和局部水平过程相关的信息交换。此外，由于所有这些研究都使用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）来解决儿科人群的脑组织问题，因此本项目还将研究两个方法学问题：(1)BOLD反应是否随着发展而发生变化。动脉自旋标记（ASL）措施将被用来解决这个问题；(2)脑形态学是否存在与年龄相关的变化，因为它与解剖正常化有关？

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although there has been substantial work documenting behavioral change in spatial cognitive processing, little is known about the development of the neural systems that mediate these functions. Recent advances in fMRI now make it possible to ask critical questions concerning the relations between behavioral change and change in the associated brain systems: What does it mean to say that particular brain regions mediate, or to come to mediate, certain types of processing? How do patterns of neural commitment emerge in development? Specifically, to what extent does the development of the neural systems reflect the profiles of change observed in behavioral data? The major goals of this proposal focus on documenting the relationship between developmental change in a basic aspect of spatial cognitive functioning, visual pattern processing, and change in the brain system, the ventral occipital temporal lobe system, that mediates these functions. Three series of studies are proposed. The first is focuses on mapping developmental change in the functional organization of the ventral visual system, exploring the neural organization of category specific information along the ventral surface of the temporal lobe. The second is directed toward examining change in the patterns of hemispheric lateralization for the basic cognitive processes involved in spatial pattern analysis, focusing on the separable process of configural, or global, and featural, or local, level processing. Third examines regulation of information exchange across the cerebral hemispheres, looking at the exchange of information related to global and local level processes. In addition, because all of these studies use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to address questions of brain organization in pediatric populations, this project will also investigate two methodological questions: (1) Are there changes with development in the BOLD response. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) measures will be employed to address this question; (2) Are there age-related change in brain morphology as it relates to anatomical normalization?