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Pujol J, Blanco-Hinojo L, Macia D, Martínez-Vilavella G, Deus J, Pérez-Sola V, Cardoner N, Soriano-Mas C, Sunyer J. Differences between the child and adult brain in the local functional structure of the cerebral cortex. Neuroimage 2021; 237:118150. [PMID: 33984493 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Imaging studies on neuronal network formation provide relevant information as to how the brain matures during adolescence. We used a novel imaging approach combining well-established MRI measures of local functional connectivity that jointly provide qualitatively different information relating to the functional structure of the cerebral cortex. To investigate the adolescent transition into adulthood, we comparatively assessed 169 preadolescents aged 8-12 years and 121 healthy adults. Whole-brain functional connectivity maps were generated using multi-distance measures of intracortical neural activity coupling defined within iso-distant local areas. Such Iso-Distant Average Correlation (IDAC) measures therefore represent the average temporal correlation of a given brain unit, or voxel, with other units situated at increasingly separated iso-distant intervals. The results indicated that between-group differences in the functional structure of the cerebral cortex are extensive and implicate part of the lateral prefrontal cortex, a medial frontal/anterior cingulate region, the superior parietal lobe extending to the somatosensory strip and posterior cingulate cortex, and local connections within the visual cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and insula. We thus provided detail of the cerebral cortex functional structure maturation during the transition to adulthood, which may serve to establish more accurate links between adolescent performance gains and cerebral cortex maturation. Remarkably, our study provides new information as to the cortical maturation processes in prefrontal areas relevant to executive functioning and rational learning, medial frontal areas playing an active role in the cognitive appraisal of emotion and anxiety, and superior parietal cortices strongly associated with bodily self-consciousness in the context of body image formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Laura Blanco-Hinojo
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Didac Macia
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gerard Martínez-Vilavella
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Deus
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - Víctor Pérez-Sola
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions, Hospital del Mar-IMIM, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Narcís Cardoner
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain; Mental Health Department, Parc Taulí Sabadell University Hospital, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Soriano-Mas
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Spain; Department of Psychobiology and Methodology in Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Sunyer
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Ciber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
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Pujol J, Blanco-Hinojo L, Martínez-Vilavella G, Canu-Martín L, Pujol A, Pérez-Sola V, Deus J. Brain activity during traditional textbook and audiovisual-3D learning. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01427. [PMID: 31571423 PMCID: PMC6790317 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Audiovisual educational tools have increasingly been used during the past years to complement and compete with traditional textbooks. However, little is known as to how the brain processes didactic information presented in different formats. We directly assessed brain activity during learning using both traditional textbook and audiovisual-3D material. METHODS A homogeneous sample of 30 young adults with active study habits was assessed. Educational material on the subject of Cardiology was adapted to be presented during the acquisition of functional MRI. RESULTS When tested after image acquisition, participants obtained similar examination scores for both formats. Evoked brain activity was robust during both traditional textbook and audiovisual-3D lessons, but a greater number of brain systems were implicated in the processing of audiovisual-3D information, consistent with its multisource sensory nature. However, learning was not associated with group mean brain activations, but was instead predicted by distinct functional MRI signal changes in the frontal lobes and showed distinct cognitive correlates. In the audiovisual-3D version, examination scores were positively correlated with late-evoked prefrontal cortex activity and working memory, and negatively correlated with language-related frontal areas and verbal memory. As for the traditional textbook version, the fewer results obtained suggested the opposite pattern, with examination scores negatively correlating with prefrontal cortex activity evoked during the lesson. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the results indicate that a similar level of knowledge may be achieved via different cognitive strategies. In our experiment, audiovisual learning appeared to benefit from prefrontal executive resources (as opposed to memorizing verbal information) more than traditional textbook learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Blanco-Hinojo
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Lucila Canu-Martín
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anna Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Víctor Pérez-Sola
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, Spain.,Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions, Hospital del Mar, IMIM, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Deus
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychobiology and Methodology in Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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