Article abstract
Nature Neuroscience 10, 1198 - 1205 (2007)
Published online: 5 August 2007 | doi:10.1038/nn1950
Development of the declarative memory system in the human brain
Noa Ofen1,2, Yun-Ching Kao1,3, Peter Sokol-Hessner1,4, Heesoo Kim1,5, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli1,2 & John D E Gabrieli1,2
Abstract
Brain regions that are involved in memory formation, particularly medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures and lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), have been identified in adults, but not in children. We investigated the development of brain regions involved in memory formation in 49 children and adults (ages 8–24), who studied scenes during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Recognition memory for vividly recollected scenes improved with age. There was greater activation for subsequently remembered scenes than there was for forgotten scenes in MTL and PFC regions. These activations increased with age in specific PFC, but not in MTL, regions. PFC, but not MTL, activations correlated with developmental gains in memory for details of experiences. Voxel-based morphometry indicated that gray matter volume in PFC, but not in MTL, regions reduced with age. These results suggest that PFC regions that are important for the formation of detailed memories for experiences have a prolonged maturational trajectory.
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Jordan Hall, Building 420, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
- Present address: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
- Present address: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, William James Hall, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
- Present address: Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place (MC:1051), New York, New York 10003, USA.
- Present address: Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Correspondence to: Noa Ofen1,2 e-mail: noa@mit.edu
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