Neurophysiology of cognitive development and response inhibition

项目摘要 我们将研究反应抑制成熟的神经基质， 青春期和成年期。反应抑制被认为是由前额叶皮层介导的， 与其他脊椎动物相比，灵长类动物的区域大大扩展，这经历了漫长的成熟过程 反映了青春期后高级认知功能的发展。一些精神疾病 发病与前额叶皮层的成熟有关，最明显的是精神分裂症， 在成年早期。执行功能也在成年期得到改善，而这种能力的发展不足 与青少年犯罪和其他健康和社会重要性有关。很少有人知道的 前额叶皮层在青春期经历的生理变化，以介导认知能力的提高 控制利用最近的方法和概念的进步，我们建议调查 青春期后发生的前额皮质生理学和解剖学连接的变化。我们建议 使用非人类灵长类动物模型，使我们能够进行行为评估，神经生理学， 记录和MR成像在发育中的动物和对照的前额叶皮层。我们的研究将使 使用测试反应抑制的行为任务。我们将主要依靠反眼跳任务， 受试者在视觉刺激的相反方向上进行眼球运动，从而抵抗了 刺激。实验将记录与任务表现相关的神经元活动，以了解神经元的活动。 在青春期开始后变成熟。这些实验将提供关于如何发展的见解， 前额叶皮层会改变其生理反应，这一发现对于理解和治疗 一种被认为与前额叶皮层发育不全有关的精神疾病。

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.