title: The role of fronto-parietal and fronto-striatal networks in the development of working memory: a longitudinal study.
abstract: The increase in working memory (WM) capacity is an important part of cognitive development during childhood and adolescence. Cross-sectional analyses have associated this development with higher activity, thinner cortex, and white matter maturation in fronto-parietal networks. However, there is still a lack of longitudinal data showing the dynamics of this development and the role of subcortical structures. We included 89 individuals, aged 6-25 years, who were scanned 1-3 times at 2-year intervals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to identify activated areas in superior frontal, intraparietal cortices, and caudate nucleus during performance on a visuo-spatial WM task. Probabilistic tractography determined the anatomical pathways between these regions. In the cross-sectional analysis, WM capacity correlated with activity in frontal and parietal regions, cortical thickness in parietal cortex, and white matter structure [both fractional anisotropy (FA) and white matter volume] of fronto-parietal and fronto-striatal tracts. However, in the longitudinal analysis, FA in white matter tracts and activity in caudate predicted future WM capacity. The results show a dynamic of neural networks underlying WM development in which cortical activity and structure relate to current capacity, while white matter tracts and caudate activity predict future WM capacity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fahimeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Darki
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Torkel
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klingberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: DTI; caudate nucleus; cortical thickness; development; fMRI; working memory