The Developing Brain: from Theory to Neuroimaging and Back
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 1 (2011) 101–109 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/dcn Review The developing brain: From theory to neuroimaging and back Eveline A. Crone a,b,c,∗, K. Richard Ridderinkhof c,d a Leiden University, Institute for Psychological Research, The Netherlands b Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition, The Netherlands c Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands d Cognitive Science Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands article info abstract Article history: Surprisingly little headway has been made towards understanding how brain growth maps Received 17 September 2010 onto mental growth during child development. This review aims at bridging and integrat- Received in revised form 2 December 2010 ing recent human neuroscientific brain maturation findings with the conceptual thinking Accepted 4 December 2010 of theorists in the behavioural tradition of studying cognitive development. Developmen- tal research in the field of internal control and self-regulation serves as a reference point Keywords: for understanding the relation between brain maturation and mental growth. Using several Brain maturation recent neuroimaging findings as points in case, we show how a deeper appreciation of struc- Neuroimaging Cognitive development tural and functional neural development can be obtained from considering the traditional Neuroconstructivism conceptual frameworks, and vice versa. We conclude that paradigmatic progress in devel- Working memory opmental neuroscience can rely more on knowledge from developmental experimental psychology, and that developmental models of cognitive development can be constrained and articulated with more precision on the basis of knowledge of differential structural and functional brain maturation. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 101 2. Brain maturation.................................................................................................................... 102 3. Cognitive development theories vis-à-vis brain development .................................................................... 103 3.1. Developmental theories .................................................................................................... 103 3.2. Brain development supporting changes in working memory and control ................................................. 104 4. Merging developmental theory with developmental imaging .................................................................... 106 5. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 108 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 108 References .......................................................................................................................... 108 1. Introduction behaviour. Textbooks on cognitive development are now Developmental neuroimaging studies have had a great incorporating brain development as further explanations impact on thinking about developmental changes in for developmental improvements in a wide area of skills (e.g., Blakemore and Frith, 2005; Goswami, 2008), and neu- roscientists are speculating about how brain development ∗ results in changes in cognitive function (e.g., Shaw et al., Corresponding author at: Department of Developmental Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands. 2006). Despite this mutual interest, the two research areas E-mail address: [email protected] (E.A. Crone). (developmental psychology and neuroscience) are still seg- 1878-9293/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2010.12.001 102 E.A. Crone, K. Richard Ridderinkhof / Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 1 (2011) 101–109 regated and a gap remains between our knowledge of brain confirmed, however, for instance by longitudinal studies development and cognitive development. Developmental showing consistent relations between individual differ- neuroimaging studies tend to be data-driven rather than ences in brain growth and cognitive development. theory-driven; that is, these studies tend to be inspired Here, we set out to revive and rejuvenate this general more by the prospect of finding differential maturational approach by relating recent neuroimaging findings using trajectories of specific structures and functions than by pre- cognitive paradigms to the theoretical bases which have dictions derived from theoretical perspectives on mental shaped the thinking of developmental scientists. Given that growth (see also Johnson, 2001, 2010). It is not uncom- functional developmental neuroimaging studies to date mon that developmental changes in cognitive function are have focused mainly childhood and adolescence (ages 6–7 interpreted as the simple maturation of a single brain area and older), we will restrict the review to this age period. or circuit, ignoring the long history of cognitive theorizing This focus allows us to make more solid inferences on the about the development of thought and behaviour. Like- relation between brain developmental and cognitive devel- wise, it is not uncommon that developmental changes in opment. We further restrict our review to the functional domains such as working memory are explained in terms of domain of internal control and working memory develop- classic stage-wise development while ignoring the signifi- ment, because this domain is well described in both the cant improvements that have been made in relating these information-processing theories of cognitive development functions to brain maturation, which could constrain the and in recent neuroimaging studies. Many of the recom- currently available developmental theories. mendations we present following this review, however, The goal of this review is to identify initial steps towards are also applicable to other domains of cognitive develop- understanding recent neuroscientific brain development ment where links are made with brain development, such findings in the context of classic developmental theories as inhibition, reasoning, self-regulation, and mentalizing of cognitive development. We identify several problems functions (e.g., theory of mind). which occur when neuroimaging studies are designed without taking into account the prior findings from classic 2. Brain maturation developmental theories. Before the advent of developmental neuroimaging, sev- Biological models of brain development have made eral endeavors have been undertaken towards integrating great progress in understanding the development of brain mental development and brain maturation (e.g., Crnic structure, especially since the use of magnetic resonance and Pennington, 1987; Dawson and Fischer, 1994; Schore, imaging (MRI). In the early days of developmental neuro- 1994; Segalowitz and Rose-Krasnor, 1992; for an extensive science, our knowledge of brain structure and development review see van der Molen and Ridderinkhof, 1998). Initial were mostly based on post-mortem studies, which demon- attempts focused on measures of brain size. In a series of strated that the size of the brain increases until age studies, Epstein (1974a,b) derived his phrenoblysis hypoth- 9–10 and by that time the size and weight of the brain esis (the Greek word “phreno” stands for skull or mind does not change that much anymore until senescence while “blysis” refers to welling-up of matter), suggesting (Huttenlocher, 1979; Huttenlocher et al., 1983). These that the brain grows in spurts with peaks in growth rate studies reported on two main changes which occur in the occurring between 6 and 8, 10 and 12, and 14 and 17 years developing brain. First, expansion of the layer of myelin of age. The correlated patterns of peaks and troughs in brain around the axon of developing neurons continues into ado- growth and mental growth (as indexed by intelligence lescence, especially for the frontal regions of the brain. tests) suggested to Epstein (1978) a link with Piagetian the- Second, synaptic density, or the number of synapses in a ory. The spurts in brain growth would precede and prepare certain volume of brain tissue, increases dramatically in stage transitions in cognitive development. The phrenobl- early in post-natal development, followed by pruning dur- ysis hypothesis has met with considerable methodological ing maturation. criticism, however. The rise of in vivo brain scanning methods in the last Other attempts focused on the spectral analysis of 20–30 years, including MRI, allowed researchers to exam- brain electrical activity, as measured using the electro- ine changes in brain structure on a much broader scale encephalogram (EEG). Matousek and Petersén (1973) and in much more detail. Brain structure changes could reported developmental changes in spectral power that now be studied across time within the same individuals, showed periods of rapid growth alternating with peri- and several reports have confirmed that there are impor- ods of slow growth, taken to support stage theories of tant changes in grey and white matter structure until brain maturation (Hudspeth and Pribram, 1992), echoing late adolescence. The development of white-matter tracks Epstein’s hypothesis