Probing the Neural Basis of Visual Working Memory in Early Development
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Probing the Neural Basis of Visual Working Memory in Early Development
IRAS ID
196063
Contact name
John Spencer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Working memory has been dubbed the heart of intelligent behavior, and a core property of this cognitive system is its highly limited capacity. Working memory capacity limitations are reliably associated with individual differences in many basic forms of cognition, and working memory deficits have been observed in at-risk populations, including children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, and children born preterm. Given these influences, understanding the development of working memory capacity limits has broad implications and may be critical to intervention efforts with atypically developing children.
This project focuses on the development of a type of working memory called visual working memory (VWM). VWM plays a key role in much of visual cognition, comparing percepts that cannot be simultaneously viewed and identifying changes in the world when they occur. Research has shown that VWM develops dramatically between infancy and 5 years of age, and a recent model of VWM has formalized a candidate neural mechanism for how VWM capacity changes in early development. Here, we test this theoretical account at neural and behavioral levels.
We will conduct an accelerated longitudinal study from 6 months to 4.5 years. At each age, children will complete two functional neuroimaging sessions and a structural neuroimaging session. We will use these data to examine individual developmental trajectories in VWM performance from 6 months to 4.5 years. Results will set the stage for extensions of our approach to examine longitudinal changes in at-risk populations. This work will also foster an innovative approach to individualized interventions guided by a neural process model of VWM that speaks to individual differences in both brain and behavior.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0342
Date of REC Opinion
1 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion