Neurophysiology of cognitive development and response inhibition

项目总结 我们将研究反应抑制成熟的神经底物在 青春期和成年期。反应抑制被认为是由前额叶皮质，一种皮质 与其他脊椎动物相比，灵长类的面积大大扩大，经历了一个漫长的成熟过程 这反映了青春期后高级认知功能的发展。一些精神疾病 发病与前额叶皮质的成熟有关，最明显的是精神分裂症，它本身就表现出来 在成年初期。执行功能在成年后也有所改善，但这种能力的发展不足 与犯罪和其他具有健康和社会意义的条件有关。人们对此知之甚少 青春期前额叶皮质为调节认知改善而经历的生理变化 控制力。利用最新的方法和概念上的进展，我们建议研究 青春期后发生的前额叶皮质生理和解剖连通性的变化。我们建议 使用非人类灵长类动物模型，将允许我们进行行为评估、神经生理学 以及发育中的动物和对照组的前额叶皮质的mr成像。我们的研究将使 使用测试反应抑制的行为任务。我们将主要依靠反扫视任务，这需要 受试者使眼睛朝着与视觉刺激相反的方向运动，从而抵抗先发制人 刺激。实验将记录与任务表现相关的神经元活动，以了解哪些神经 变数在青春期开始后成熟。这些实验将提供关于如何发展的洞察 前额叶皮质改变其生理反应，这一发现对理解和治疗至关重要 被认为与前额叶皮质成熟失败有关的精神疾病。

PROJECT SUMMARY We will investigate the neural substrates of the maturation of response inhibition between the time of adolescence and adulthood. Response inhibition is thought to be mediated by the prefrontal cortex, a cortical area greatly expanded in primates compared to other vertebrates, which undergoes a long maturation process that mirrors the development of higher cognitive functions after adolescence. A number of mental illnesses have onsets linked to the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, most notably schizophrenia, which manifests itself in early adulthood. Executive function also improves in adulthood, and inadequate development of this capacity is associated with delinquency and other conditions of health and social significance. Little is known about the physiological changes that the prefrontal cortex undergoes in adolescence so as to mediate improved cognitive control. Taking advantage of recent methodological and conceptual advances, we propose to investigate the changes of prefrontal cortical physiology and anatomical connectivity that occur after puberty. We propose to use a non-human primate model that will allow us to conduct behavioral assessments, neurophysiological recordings, and MR imaging in the prefrontal cortex of developing animals and controls. Our study will make use behavioral tasks that test response inhibition. We will rely primarily on the anti-saccade task which requires subjects to make an eye movement in the opposite direction of a visual stimulus, thus resisting the pre-potent stimulus. Experiments will record neuronal activity related to task performance to understand what neural variables maturate after the onset of puberty. These experiments will offer insights on how development of the prefrontal cortex alters its physiological responses, findings that will be essential for understanding and treating mental illnesses thought to be associated with a failure of prefrontal cortical maturation.