The functional brain networks that underlie visual working memory in the first two years of life

Lourdes Delgado Reyes; Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar; Vincent A Magnotta; Samuel H Forbes; John P Spencer

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116971

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The functional brain networks that underlie visual working memory in the first two years of life

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The functional brain networks that underlie visual working memory in the first two years of life

Lourdes Delgado Reyes, Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar, Vincent A Magnotta, Samuel H Forbes and John P Spencer

NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), Vol.219, pp.116971-116971

10/01/2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116971

PMCID: PMC7443700

PMID: 32454208

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Abstract

Visual working memory (VWM) is a central cognitive system used to compare views of the world and detect changes in the local environment. This system undergoes dramatic development in the first two years; however, we know relatively little about the functional organization of VWM at the level of the brain. Here, we used image-based functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to test four hypotheses about the spatial organization of the VWM network in early development. Four-month-olds, 1-year-olds, and 2-year-olds completed a VWM task while we recorded neural activity from 19 cortical regions-of-interest identified from a meta-analysis of the adult fMRI literature on VWM. Results showed significant task-specific functional activation near 6 of 19 ROIs, revealing spatial consistency in the brain regions activated in our study and brain regions identified to be part of the VWM network in adult fMRI studies. Working memory related activation was centered on bilateral anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and left ventral occipital complex (VOC), while visual exploratory measures were associated with activation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left TPJ, and bilateral IPS. Results show that a distributed brain network underlies functional changes in VWM in infancy, revealing new insights into the neural mechanisms that support infants' improved ability to remember visual information and to detect changes in an on-going visual stream.

Brain - diagnostic imaging

Visual Perception - physiology

Humans

Child, Preschool

Infant

Male

Functional Neuroimaging - methods

Memory, Short-Term - physiology

Reaction Time - physiology

Visual Pathways - diagnostic imaging

Brain - physiology

Attention - physiology

Visual Pathways - physiology

Image Processing, Computer-Assisted

Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared

Brain Mapping

Female

Photic Stimulation

Details

Title: Subtitle: The functional brain networks that underlie visual working memory in the first two years of life
Creators: Lourdes Delgado Reyes - School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar - School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, UK
Vincent A Magnotta - Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, USA
Samuel H Forbes - School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, UK
John P Spencer - School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, UK. Electronic address: j.spencer@uea.ac.uk
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), Vol.219, pp.116971-116971
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116971
PMID: 32454208
PMCID: PMC7443700
NLM abbreviation: Neuroimage
ISSN: 1053-8119
eISSN: 1095-9572
Publisher: United States
Grant note: R25 GM086262 / NIGMS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 10/01/2020
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Radiology; Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984066385802771

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