Children's Frontal Lobes: No Longer Silent?
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1
The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute , Royal Children's Hospital, Australia
Until the last decade the development of the frontal lobes and the functions they subsume in children have received relatively little attention. Early researchers argued that these brain regions were ‘silent’ in infancy and early childhood, only becoming functional once they were fully developed in later childhood and adolescence [1]. Over the past 10 years enormous gains have been made in our understanding of normal and abnormal development of the frontal lobes through infancy, early childhood and into adolescence. We now know that these brain regions continue to develop into early adulthood. Consistent with these protracted anatomical changes, executive functions, thought to be subsumed by frontal regions, also show ongoing progression. Even while in a process of maturation, the frontal regions of the brain are fully active and engaged, although activation patterns may differ to those observed in the adult brain [2].
Further, evidence is mounting that the integrity and efficiency of these developing frontal regions are essential for normal development, due to their extensive connections with other cerebral regions and their central role in mediating executive functions. It is now argued that damage or disruption to prefrontal regions while they are rapidly developing during infancy and early childhood may cause irreversible changes in brain organization and connectivity as well as associated impairments in cognitive and social function. These consequences in turn impact on the child’s capacity to interact with his/her environment in an adaptive manner, and reduce the capacity for independence in adulthood.
This presentation aims to: (i) briefly examine the structural development of the frontal lobes and the corresponding maturation of executive functions; (ii) consider the cognitive and behavioural consequences of damage to frontal regions during childhood; (iii) compare these consequences to other developmental insults and (iv) to explore the impact of time of insult to outcomes.
References
1. Golden. In G.W. Hynd & J.E. Obrzut (Eds.), Neuropsychological assessment of the school-aged child 1981, 277-302.
2. Wood et al. Neurology 2004, 63, 1035-1044.
3. Anderson et al. In Stuss & Knight (Eds.) Principles of frontal lobe function 2002, 504-527
4. Anderson et al. Brain 2009, 132, 45-56.
5. Gogtay et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 2004, 101, 8174-8179.
Conference:
The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes, Toronto, Canada, 22 Mar - 26 Mar, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Citation:
Anderson
V
(2010). Children's Frontal Lobes: No Longer Silent?.
Conference Abstract:
The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.14.00004
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Received:
24 Jun 2010;
Published Online:
24 Jun 2010.
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Correspondence:
Vicki Anderson, The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Australia, vicki.anderson@rch.org.au