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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
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Development and sex modulate visuospatial oscillatory dynamics in typically-developing children and adolescents
Abraham D Killanin1, Alex I Wiesman1, Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham1
1Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States; Center for Magnetoencephalography, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States; Cognitive Neuroscience of Development & Aging (CoNDA) Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States.
Neuroimage
|July 26, 2020
Summary
This study reveals how brain activity for visuospatial processing changes during childhood and adolescence. Different brain regions mature at different rates in boys and girls, impacting cognitive development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Visuospatial processing is crucial for navigation and develops from infancy.
- Research on visuospatial processing has primarily focused on adults, with limited understanding of childhood and adolescent development.
- Puberty marks a significant period of neurodevelopmental change, influencing cognitive functions like visuospatial processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate developmental changes in visuospatial processing and its neural underpinnings in children and young adolescents.
- To examine sex-related differences in the neurophysiology of visuospatial processing during this developmental period.
- To explore the relationship between age, sex, and oscillatory brain activity during a visuospatial task.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record brain activity in 70 participants aged 8-15 years.
- Participants completed a visuospatial processing task while undergoing MEG.
- Oscillatory brain responses were analyzed using beamforming to identify developmental and sex-specific patterns.
Main Results:
- Reaction time on the visuospatial task decreased with increasing age.
- Theta oscillation amplitude in medial occipital cortices increased with age.
- Sex-by-age interactions revealed distinct patterns of theta activity development in males and females across different brain regions.
Conclusions:
- Visuospatial processing networks exhibit differential developmental trajectories in males and females during childhood and adolescence.
- These findings suggest that certain brain regions involved in visuospatial processing mature earlier in one sex compared to the other.
- Understanding these sex-specific developmental patterns is critical for comprehending the trajectory of behavioral performance and executive functions through puberty.
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