Developmental trajectories of magnitude processing and interference control: an FMRI study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Numerical cognition involves both interference control and magnitude processing.
• Understanding the neurodevelopmental trajectories of these functions is crucial for cognitive science.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated age-related differences in brain activation patterns for these tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neurodevelopmental changes in interference and magnitude processing across different age groups.
• To compare brain activation patterns during a numerical Stroop task in children, young adults, and elderly participants.
• To determine if interference control and magnitude processing follow similar or different developmental trajectories.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan participants during a numerical Stroop task.
• Three age groups were studied: children (n=10), young adults (n=11), and elderly participants (n=9).
• Behavioral data on distance and size congruity effects were analyzed alongside brain imaging data.

Main Results:

• Behaviorally, all age groups showed comparable distance and size congruity effects.
• Interference processing showed an age-linear trend in prefrontal and temporal regions, suggesting increased effort with age.
• Magnitude processing revealed a negative linear trend in prefrontal, supplementary motor area, and intraparietal cortex, indicating greater neural recruitment in younger individuals.

Conclusions:

• The developmental trajectories for interference control and magnitude processing are distinct.
• While these cognitive functions utilize overlapping brain regions, their age-related neural recruitment patterns differ significantly.
• These findings highlight the complex neurodevelopmental changes underlying numerical cognition across the lifespan.