The neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking environmental experience and executive function

项目总结 社会经济地位(SES)与执行功能(EF)和前额叶皮质(PFC)相关 发展。然而，对影响EF发展的SES的具体方面的理解 PFC仍然是有限的。幼儿时期的EF与最初的入学准备、学业成功、 以及成年后的各种结果。确定早期环境经验如何影响EF 发展对于确定支持发展这些技能以促进健康的战略至关重要 一生的结果。只有在干预的情况下，这一努力才能取得更快的进展 发展是由对发展的原则性和生物学上看似合理的理解所决定的 环境经验塑造PFC和相关EF发展的机制。这 提案认为，在照顾者互动的背景下发生的认知刺激支持 腹侧视觉流(VVS)和PFC之间的连接的发展，这奠定了基础 用于EF所需的复杂计算。该提案将测试环境(认知 刺激)和神经发育(VVS-PFC连接)机制解释SES相关差异 在EF和学业成就方面。研究1(K99阶段)使用创新的观测方法来评估 6-7岁入学儿童的家庭环境、认知和学业评估；以及 功能和结构磁共振检查认知刺激是否是环境机制 解释与SES相关的EF差异(目标1)。研究1还将评估早期认知刺激 调节与SES相关的VVS和PFC在结构、功能和连接性方面的差异(目标2)。 研究2(R00阶段)是对4-5岁(时间1)的儿童进行的纵向研究，随后他们认为 过渡到学校(时间2)。本研究将在早期评估VVS的结构和功能 用多模式神经成像技术预测和预测前额叶的结构和功能(目标3) 技术(功能近红外光谱、功能和结构磁共振成像)。最后，研究2将测试 认知刺激是否能解释与SES相关的VVS和PFC结构和功能的差异 EF的个体差异，并评估这些途径是否最终解释了学业上的差异 成就(目标4)。这些研究的结果将提供对环境和神经的洞察 SES相关EF和学业成就差异的解释机制。这些研究具有 有可能为帮助缩小收入-成就差距的干预措施提供信息。这一奖项将提供 候选人，在成人认知神经科学方面有很强的背景，接受过发展方面的培训 促进她向独立研究过渡的方法和发展认知神经科学 职业生涯。

PROJECT SUMMARY Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with executive function (EF) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) development. However, understanding of the specific aspects of SES that influence development of EF and the PFC remains limited. EF in early childhood is associated with initial school readiness, academic success, and a wide range of outcomes in adulthood. Determining how early environmental experiences shape EF development is critical to identify strategies to support the development of these skills to promote healthy outcomes across the life span. Accelerated progress in this effort can be made only when intervention development is informed by a principled and biologically plausible understanding of the developmental mechanisms by which environmental experience shapes the development of the PFC and associated EF. This proposal argues that cognitive stimulation that occurs in the context of caregiver interactions supports development of connectivity between the ventral visual stream (VVS) and the PFC, which lays the groundwork for the complex computations necessary for EF. The proposal will test both environmental (cognitive stimulation) and neurodevelopmental (VVS-PFC connectivity) mechanisms explaining SES-related differences in EF and academic achievement. Study 1 (K99 phase) uses innovative observational methods to assess the home environment of school-attending children aged 6-7 years, cognitive and academic assessments, and functional and structural MRI to examine whether cognitive stimulation is an environmental mechanism explaining SES-related differences in EF (Aim 1). Study 1 will also evaluate whether early cognitive stimulation mediates SES-related differences in structure, function, and connectivity between the VVS and PFC (Aim 2). Study 2 (R00 phase) is a longitudinal study of children 4-5 years (Time 1) followed as they make the important transition to school (Time 2). This study will evaluate whether structure and function of the VVS early in development precedes and predicts structure and function of the PFC (Aim 3) using multimodal neuroimaging techniques (functional near infrared spectroscopy, functional and structural MRI). Finally, Study 2 will test whether cognitive stimulation explains SES-related differences in VVS and PFC structure and function and individual differences in EF, and evaluate whether these pathways ultimately explain disparities in academic achievement (Aim 4). The results of these studies will provide insight into the environmental and neural mechanisms explaining SES-related differences in EF and academic achievement. These studies have the potential to inform interventions to help close the income-achievement gap. This award will provide the candidate, who has a strong background in cognitive neuroscience in adults, with training in developmental methods and developmental cognitive neuroscience to facilitate her transition to an independent research career.