Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0373 Oslo, Norway.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Nov 27;109(48):19620-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1208243109. Epub 2012 Nov 12.
Self-regulation refers to the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotions, and self-regulation failure is related to a range of neuropsychiatric problems. It is poorly understood how structural maturation of the brain brings about the gradual improvement in self-regulation during childhood. In a large-scale multicenter effort, 735 children (4-21 y) underwent structural MRI for quantification of cortical thickness and surface area and diffusion tensor imaging for quantification of the quality of major fiber connections. Brain development was related to a standardized measure of cognitive control (the flanker task from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox), a critical component of self-regulation. Ability to inhibit responses and impose cognitive control increased rapidly during preteen years. Surface area of the anterior cingulate cortex accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in cognitive performance. This finding is intriguing, because characteristics of the anterior cingulum are shown to be related to impulse, attention, and executive problems in neurodevelopmental disorders, indicating a neural foundation for self-regulation abilities along a continuum from normality to pathology. The relationship was strongest in the younger children. Properties of large-fiber connections added to the picture by explaining additional variance in cognitive control. Although cognitive control was related to surface area of the anterior cingulate independently of basic processes of mental speed, the relationship between white matter quality and cognitive control could be fully accounted for by speed. The results underscore the need for integration of different aspects of brain maturation to understand the foundations of cognitive development.
自我调节是指控制行为、认知和情绪的能力，而自我调节失败与一系列神经精神问题有关。目前人们对大脑结构的成熟如何带来儿童时期自我调节能力的逐步提高还知之甚少。在一项大规模的多中心研究中，735 名儿童（4-21 岁）接受了结构磁共振成像，以量化皮质厚度和表面积，并进行弥散张量成像，以量化主要纤维连接的质量。大脑发育与认知控制的标准化测量（来自美国国立卫生研究院工具包的侧翼任务）有关，这是自我调节的关键组成部分。抑制反应和实施认知控制的能力在青少年前几年迅速提高。扣带前皮质的表面积占认知表现差异的很大一部分。这一发现很有趣，因为前扣带的特征与神经发育障碍中的冲动、注意力和执行问题有关，表明自我调节能力沿着从正常到病理的连续体存在神经基础。这种关系在年龄较小的儿童中最为强烈。大纤维连接的特性通过解释认知控制的额外方差进一步补充了这一图景。尽管认知控制与扣带前皮质的表面积有关，而与心理速度的基本过程无关，但白质质量与认知控制之间的关系可以完全由速度来解释。这些结果强调了需要整合大脑成熟的不同方面，以了解认知发展的基础。
