Abstract
Cortical information processing is structurally and functionally organized into hierarchical pathways, with primary sensory cortical regions providing modality specific information and associative cortical regions playing a more integrative role. Historically, there has been debate as to whether primary cortical regions mature earlier than associative cortical regions, or whether both primary and associative cortical regions mature simultaneously. Identifying whether primary and associative cortical regions mature hierarchically or simultaneously will not only deepen our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate brain maturation, but it will also provide fundamental insight into aspects of adolescent behavior, learning, neurodevelopmental disorders and computational models of neural processing. This mini-review article summarizes the current evidence supporting the sequential and hierarchical nature of cortical maturation, and then proposes a new cellular model underlying this process. Finally, unresolved issues associated with hierarchical cortical maturation are also addressed.
Highlights
Mechanisms of Hierarchical Cortical MaturationCortical information processing is structurally and functionally organized into hierarchical pathways, with primary sensory cortical regions providing modality specific information and associative cortical regions playing a more integrative role
The concept of cortical hierarchy has been widely recognized for years (Guillery, 2005). It is based on established structure-function relationships in the thalamo-cortical system that consist of primary sensory areas and several distinct higher-order association areas that are important for cognitive functions (Komura et al, 2001; Hu, 2003; Guillery, 2005; Shipp, 2007; Redgrave et al, 2010)
Whether the cortex matures sequentially or simultaneously has important implications. Answering this question is critical to our understanding of the basic neurobiological processes involved in brain maturation and cognitive function
Summary
Cortical information processing is structurally and functionally organized into hierarchical pathways, with primary sensory cortical regions providing modality specific information and associative cortical regions playing a more integrative role. Identifying whether primary and associative cortical regions mature hierarchically or simultaneously will deepen our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate brain maturation, but it will provide fundamental insight into aspects of adolescent behavior, learning, neurodevelopmental disorders and computational models of neural processing. This mini-review article summarizes the current evidence supporting the sequential and hierarchical nature of cortical maturation, and proposes a new cellular model underlying this process.
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