Functional and Structural Connectivity in Adolescence

描述（由申请人提供）：儿童在青少年时期获得复杂的推理技能，特别是在执行功能和工作记忆方面。 然而，这些变化的神经生物学基础知之甚少。 关于这个问题的少数研究涉及额叶及其连接的成熟。 直到最近，它一直很难获得有关信息额叶成熟在体内。 尸检样本很少。 磁共振成像的最新进展有望提供更多的知识，在体内的功能和解剖大脑连接。 拟议的研究利用这些创新来增加青少年时期额叶连接的知识。 将在一项横断面研究中使用新型磁共振成像技术对正常青少年进行研究。 具体而言，将通过分析休息期间和工作记忆任务期间血氧水平依赖性信号的低频波动的时间相关性来评估功能连接的发育变化。 将使用扩散张量成像和纤维追踪评价结构连接性。 实质上，该研究旨在建立工作记忆网络中功能和结构连接的年龄相关变化的正常模式，并将其与青春期状态和激素水平联系起来。 在方法上，该项目旨在创建测量功能和结构大脑连接的技术，这些技术可以扩展到感兴趣的临床人群和其他认知领域。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children gain sophisticated reasoning skills, particularly in executive function and working memory, during the adolescent years. Yet, little is known of the neurobiological substrate of these changes. The few studies bearing on this question implicate the maturation of the frontal lobe and its connections. Until recently, it has been difficult to obtain relevant information on frontal lobe maturation in vivo. Postmortem samples have been sparse. Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging promise to provide increased knowledge of functional and anatomical brain connectivity in vivo. The proposed research exploits these innovations to increase knowledge of frontal lobe connectivity during the adolescent years. Normal adolescents will be studied using novel magnetic resonance imaging techniques within a cross-sectional study. Specifically, developmental changes in functional connectivity will be assessed via analysis of temporal correlations in low-frequency fluctuations of the blood-oxygenated level dependent signal during rest and during a working memory task. Structural connectivity will be evaluated using diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tracking. Substantively, the research aims to establish normal patterns of age-related change in functional and structural connectivity in the working memory network and relate them to pubertal status and hormonal levels. Methodologically, the project seeks to create techniques for measuring functional and structural brain connectivity that can be extended to clinical populations of interest and other cognitive domains.