Abstract
Episodic memory is the ability to learn, store and recall new information. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a crucial area engaged in this ability. Cognitive training has been demonstrated to improve episodic memory in adults and older subjects. However, there are no studies examining the effects of cognitive training on episodic memory encoding in typically developing children and adolescents. This study investigated the behavioral effects and neural correlates of semantic categorization strategy training in children and adolescents during verbal episodic memory encoding using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants with age range: 7–18 years were scanned before and after semantic categorization training during encoding of word lists. Results showed improved memory performance in adolescents, but not in children. Deactivation of the anterior medial PFC/anterior cingulate and higher activation of the right anterior and lateral orbital gyri, right frontal pole and right middle frontal gyrus activation were found after training in adolescents when compared to children. These findings suggest different maturational paths of brain regions, especially in the PFC, and deactivation of default mode network areas, which are involved in successful memory and executive processes in the developing brain.
Highlights
The ability to learn and recall new information is essential to human development and highly demanded during school-age years in children and adolescents
The aims of the current study were to investigate: (1) the behavioral effects of semantic categorization strategy training in typically developing children and adolescents, (2) the neural correlates associated with the application of this strategy during episodic memory encoding using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and (3) differences in behavioral performance and brain correlates between children and adolescents
The TDE scores indicated that all participants were literate, and results were within the expected age range (Table 1)
Summary
The ability to learn and recall new information is essential to human development and highly demanded during school-age years in children and adolescents. Episodic memory is a critical system associated with the capacity to learn, store and recall personally experienced and temporally specific events [1,2]. A distributed brain network including regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and surrounding cortices support episodic memory and follow different developmental trajectories [3]. The PFC has been associated with executive processes that support distinctive components of learning and memory demonstrated by different neuroimaging and lesion studies [4,5,6,7,8,9]. There are a number of strategic processes that can improve.
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