Growing together: Dynamic connectivity between developmentally sensitive regions serving verbal working memory in
Abraham D Killanin1,2,3, Thomas W Ward1,2,4, Danielle L Rice1,2
1Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA.
The Journal of Physiology
|May 5, 2025
Summary
Brain connectivity for verbal memory changes significantly from childhood to adolescence. Functional connectivity increases with age in key brain regions, particularly during encoding and maintenance phases of memory tasks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Verbal working memory networks undergo significant developmental changes from childhood to adolescence.
- Maturational changes in dynamic functional connectivity are less understood compared to other neural properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in dynamic functional connectivity within verbal working memory networks.
- To explore how functional connectivity evolves during different phases of verbal working memory tasks.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record brain activity in 75 typically developing youth (ages 6-14).
- Phase-locking value was computed to index functional connectivity between brain regions showing age-related relationships.
- Analysis focused on connectivity during encoding and maintenance phases of a verbal working memory task.
Main Results:
- Functional connectivity increased with age between left prefrontal and inferior parietal regions during encoding.
- Age-related connectivity patterns varied by sex between right frontal and left occipitotemporal regions during encoding.
- Connectivity increased with age between left occipitotemporal and right posterior parietal areas during maintenance, and decreased between left frontal and right occipital cortices.
Conclusions:
- Development from childhood to adolescence modulates neural oscillations and functional connectivity in verbal working memory networks.
- Findings suggest verbal working memory processing becomes more left-lateralized with age.
- Results refine models of functional neural development for verbal working memory, with implications for research and clinical studies.
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