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Abstract
Despite significant gains in the fields of pediatric neuroimaging and developmental
neurobiology, surprisingly little is known about the developing human brain or the
neural bases of cognitive development. This paper addresses MRI studies of structural
and functional changes in the developing human brain and their relation to changes
in cognitive processes over the first few decades of human life. Based on post-mortem
and pediatric neuroimaging studies published to date, the prefrontal cortex appears
to be one of the last brain regions to mature. Given the prolonged physiological development
and organization of the prefrontal cortex during childhood, tasks believed to involve
this region are ideal for investigating the neural bases of cognitive development.
A number of normative pediatric fMRI studies examining prefrontal cortical activity
in children during memory and attention tasks are reported. These studies, while largely
limited to the domain of prefrontal functioning and its development, lend support
for continued development of attention and memory both behaviorally and physiologically
throughout childhood and adolescence. Specifically, the magnitude of activity observed
in these studies was greater and more diffuse in children relative to adults. These
findings are consistent with the view that increasing cognitive capacity during childhood
may coincide with a gradual loss rather than formation of new synapses and presumably
a strengthening of remaining synaptic connections. It is clear that innovative methods
like fMRI together with MRI-based morphometry and nonhuman primate studies will transform
our current understanding of human brain development and its relation to behavioral
development.