As children grow up, they switch from procedure-based to memory-based strategies for problem solving. However, the changes in brain circuitry underlying this switch are unknown. In a functional MRI analysis of 7–9-year-old children who were asked to solve simple addition problems (such as 3 + 5 =?), the authors found that the switch to memory-based strategies involved an increase in hippocampal activity, a decrease in prefrontal–parietal activity and increased hippocampus–neocortex connectivity. The efficiency of the memory-based strategy continued to improve through adolescence and into adulthood. This finding highlights the importance of functional reorganization in the hippocampus and neocortex during this developmental period.
References
Qin, S. et al. Hippocampal-neocortical functional reorganization underlies children's cognitive development. Nature Neurosci. 17, 1263–1269 (2014)
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Lewis, S. Childhood problems and solutions. Nat Rev Neurosci 15, 630 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3823
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3823