Learning in the developing mind and brain: understanding memory systems and environmental influences

这项拟议研究的长期目标是了解神经系统缓慢、不同步但高度协调的发展如何限制并使学习和记忆成为可能。这个问题对于理解儿童时期学习的性质和了解为什么有与年龄有关的学习限制(即敏感期)至关重要。提出了两个短期目标。目标1是描述记忆系统之间的相互作用是如何随着认知和大脑发育而变化的，首先询问在经典记忆系统及其组成部分的发展过程中是否存在异步(将信息输入和输出记忆)，其次系统之间的相互作用是否随着发展而改变。目标2是了解哪些认知和神经发育模式与学习和记忆的最佳结果有关，以及环境是如何塑造这种结果的。*为了实现这些目标，8至18岁的儿童将被邀请到实验室完成一系列行为实验和核磁共振扫描。儿童将完成的行为任务旨在衡量记忆系统及其相互作用的发育变化；核磁共振扫描将衡量儿童的大脑功能和结构。能力的变化将与儿童大脑功能和结构的变化相关，回答有关大脑变化如何支持这些核心记忆系统变化的基本问题。为了更好地探讨这个问题，并将大脑变化与学习结果联系起来，将招募一大批额外的8岁儿童，每隔2年进行一次跟踪调查；这一纵向样本将被要求完成一系列额外的学习研究；纵向样本中，一半来自高或中等社会经济背景，一半来自低收入背景。这一设计将允许比较不同环境群体中与年龄相关的变化，回答关于科学对来自不同环境的儿童的适用性的问题，并告知不同环境中对环境输入(或可塑性)的开放持续时间的概念。*这项研究可以转化为建议，说明加拿大不同年龄段的儿童应该如何构建成功的学习信息。此外，它还将为方向性假说提供信息，即哪些大脑变化与能力提高有关。这将提供对可塑性机制的洞察，阐明某些大脑区域(和行为能力)的延迟或加速成熟是否与更大的学习成功有关。这项工作还将揭示环境在塑造这些关系中的作用，并指出在方便的样本中确定的发展模式是否也适用于处境不利的儿童。**

The long-term goal of the proposed research is to understand how the slow, asynchronous but highly orchestrated development of neural systems limits and enables learning and memory. This question is fundamental to understanding the nature of learning during childhood and to knowing why there are age-related limits on learning (i.e., sensitive periods). Two short-term objects are proposed. Objective 1 is to characterize how the interplay between memory systems changes with cognitive and brain development, asking first if there are asynchronies in the development of classic memory systems and their component processes (gating information into and out of memory), and second if the interplay between systems changes with development. Objective 2 is to understand which patterns of cognitive and neural development are associated with the best outcomes in learning and memory and how this is shaped by the environment. ***To achieve these objectives, children ages 8 to 18 years will be invited to the lab to complete a series of behavioral experiments and an MRI scan. The behavioral tasks that children will complete are designed to measure developmental changes in memory systems as well as their interactions; the MRI scan will measure children's brain function and structure. Changes in ability will be related to changes in brain function and structure across children, answering foundational questions about how changes in the brain support changes in these core memory systems. To approach this same question more causally and link brain changes to learning outcomes, a large group of additional 8 year olds will be recruited to follow-up with at 2 year intervals; this longitudinal sample of children will be asked to complete an additional series of learning studies; half of the longitudinal sample will be from high or middle socioeconomic backgrounds and half will be from lower-income backgrounds. This design will allow the comparison of age-related changes in groups from different environments, answering questions about the applicably of science to children from diverse environments and informing notions about the duration of openness to environmental input (or plasticity) in different environments. ***This research can be transformed into recommendations about how information should be structured for successful learning by Canadian children of different ages. It will moreover inform directional hypothesis about which brain changes are associated with gains in ability. This will provide insight into mechanisms of plasticity, illuminating whether delayed or accelerated maturation of certain brain regions (and behavioral abilities) is associated with greater success in learning. This work will moreover unveil the role of environment in shaping these relationships and indicate whether developmental patterns that are identified in convenient samples also apply to disadvantaged children. **