Longitudinal study of spatial working memory development in young children

• Published in: Neuroreport Vol. 20; no. 8; pp. 759 - 763
• Main Authors: Tsujii, Takeo, Yamamoto, Eriko, Masuda, Sayako, Watanabe, Shigeru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc 27-05-2009; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subjects: Aging - physiology; Aging - psychology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Cognition - physiology; Cues; Dominance, Cerebral - physiology; Female; Frontal Lobe - anatomy & histology; Frontal Lobe - growth & development; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Miscellaneous; Neuropsychological Tests; Orientation - physiology; Oxygen Consumption - physiology; Oxyhemoglobins - analysis; Oxyhemoglobins - metabolism; Problem Solving - physiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Space Perception - physiology; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Human; Hemispheric specialization; Central nervous system; Cognition; Frontal cortex; Encephalon; Follow up study; children; functional near-infrared spectroscopy; hemispheric asymmetry; Cognitive development; Working memory; Laterality; longitudinal; Child; Spatial memory; spatial working memory
• ISSN: 0959-4965; 1473-558X
• DOI: 10.1097/WNR.0b013e32832aa975

This study longitudinally compared activity in the frontal cortex during a spatial working memory task between 5-year-old and 7-year-old children using near-infrared spectroscopy. Eight children participated in this study twice, once at 5 years and once at 7 years of age. Behavioral analysis showed that older children performed the working memory task more precisely and more rapidly than younger children. Near-infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that right hemisphere dominance was observed in older children, whereas no hemispheric difference was apparent in younger children. Children with strengthened lateralization showed improved performance from 5 to 7 years. We therefore offer the first demonstration of the developmental changes in frontal cortical activation during spatial working memory tasks during the preschool period.