Memory formation influenced by how brain networks develop during youth
One of the first studies to pioneer intracranial EEG on pediatric
patients

Date:
February 15, 2022
Source:
Northwestern University
Summary:
In a new, rare study of direct brain recordings in children
and adolescents, scientists have discovered as brains mature,
the precise ways by which two key memory regions in the brain
communicate make us better at forming lasting memories. The findings
also suggest how brains learn to multitask with age. Historically, a
lack of high-resolution data from children's brains have led to gaps
in our understanding of how the developing brain forms memories. The
study innovated the use of intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG)
on pediatric patients to examine how brain development supports
memory development.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In a new, rare study of direct brain recordings in children and
adolescents, a Northwestern Medicine scientist and colleagues from Wayne
State University have discovered as brains mature, the precise ways by
which two key memory regions in the brain communicate make us better at
forming lasting memories. The findings also suggest how brains learn to multitask with age.


==========================================================================
The study will be published Feb. 15 in Current Biology.

Historically, a lack of high-resolution data from children's brains
have led to gaps in our understanding of how the developing brain forms memories. The study innovated the use of intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG) on pediatric patients to examine how brain development supports
memory development.

The scientists found a link between how the brains of people aged 5 to 21
were developing and how well they were able to form memories throughout
that 16-year period. For example, younger children, whose brains were
not as developed as the adolescent participants, weren't able to form
as many memories as some adolescents.

"Our study helps us actually explain how memory develops, not just
that it develops," said corresponding author Lisa Johnson, assistant
professor of medical social sciences and pediatrics at Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine. "By understanding how something
comes to be -- memory, in this instance -- it gives us windows into why
it eventually falls apart.

"Human memory develops throughout childhood, peaks in your 20s and, for
most people, declines with age, even in those who don't develop dementia."
To address this, her work focuses on the lifespan of memory to provide a holistic approach to understanding brain development and memory, which
is why this study focused on pediatric patients.



========================================================================== Rhythms of key memory regions of the brain The study focused on
communication between two regions of the brain that play a key role
in supporting memory formation: the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and
prefrontal cortex (PFC). To learn how these regions talk to one another,
the scientists analyzed two brain signals -- a slowly oscillating brain
wave and a faster oscillating one -- that enable communication between
regions. The rhythms dictated whether a memory was successfully formed
and differentiated top-performing adolescents from lower-performing
adolescents and children.

Pioneering intracranial EEG in pediatric patients The participants
in the study were already undergoing brain surgery for another reason
(usually to treat their epilepsy), and the scientists capitalized on
this rare opportunity to examine data from electrodes placed directly
on the exposed surface of the brain.

Following brain surgery, patients spent a week in the hospital for
monitoring.

This is when Johnson's team conducted its studies, having the participants
look at pictures of scenes to see how well they remembered them. The
research team presented them with the same images again and new scenes
they hadn't yet seen (e.g., a different image of an outdoor area) to
observe age-related differences in how well study participants remembered
what they'd seen.



==========================================================================
Our brains learn to multitask with age Another novel finding in the
study is that there appear to be age differences in fast and slow theta oscillations -- rhythms in the brain that help with cognition, behavior, learning and memory. The slow theta frequency slows down with age,
and the fast gets faster.

"These rhythms seemed to diverge with age so that they were similar in
5-year- olds and different in 20-year-olds," Johnson said. "The fact that
key memory regions are interacting at both frequencies suggests how your
brain is learning to multitask as you get older." This research, which
Johnson conducted while she was at her former collaborating institution,
Wayne State University, provides the foundation of a research program
Johnson is currently launching in collaboration with the Ann & Robert
H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

Noa Ofen of Wayne State University is the study's senior author.

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always get wrong about diet and exercise. Claim_yours_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Northwestern_University. Original
written by Kristin Samuelson. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Elizabeth L. Johnson, Qin Yin, Nolan B. O'Hara, Lingfei Tang,
Jeong-Won
Jeong, Eishi Asano, Noa Ofen. Dissociable oscillatory theta
signatures of memory formation in the developing brain. Current
Biology, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.053 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220215113357.htm

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