Functional network connectivity and child cognitive development

这项研究调查了儿童和青春期大脑区域之间的交流是如何发展的，以及这些变化与记忆力和注意力等能力的发展是如何相关的。这些都是重要的问题，因为我们知道大脑区域之间的相互作用对于执行许多类型的精神任务至关重要，但对这些大脑网络如何发展知之甚少。我将使用脑磁图(MEG)脑成像来测量儿童、青少年和年轻人大脑网络中的交流，并将其与衡量各种能力的纸笔测试进行比较。通过这项研究获得的知识将为大脑如何发展和获得新的能力提供有价值的新见解，为研究大脑网络的非典型发展如何导致学习困难开辟新的途径，并为针对特定大脑网络发育关键时期的新教学和干预策略奠定基础。

This research investigates how communication between brain areas develops during childhood and adolescence, as well as how these changes are related to the development of abilities like memory and attention. These are important questions because we know that interactions among brain areas is critical for performing many types of mental tasks, but little is known about how these brain networks develop. I will measure communication in brain networks in children, adolescents and young adults using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging, and this will be compared with paper-and-pencil tests that measure various abilities. The knowledge gained through this research will provide valuable new insights into how the brain develops and gains new abilities, opens new avenues for studying how atypical development of brain networks contributes to learning difficulties, and lays the foundation for new teaching and intervention strategies targeted toward specific brain networks at critical periods in their development.