Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
J Neurophysiol. 2021 Apr 1;125(4):1382-1395. doi: 10.1152/jn.00681.2020. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
Performing a goal-directed movement consists of a chain of complex preparatory mechanisms. Such planning especially requires integration (or binding) of various action features, a process that has been conceptualized in the "theory of event coding." Theoretical considerations and empirical research suggest that these processes are subject to developmental effects from adolescence to adulthood. The aim of the present study was to investigate age-related modulations in action feature binding processes and to shed light on underlying neurophysiological development from preadolescence to early adulthood. We examined a group of healthy participants ( = 61) between 10 and 30 yr of age, who performed a task that requires a series of bimanual response selections in an embedded paradigm. For an in-depth analysis of the underlying neural correlates, we applied EEG signal decomposition together with source localization analyses. Behavioral results across the whole group did not show binding effects in reaction times but in intraindividual response variability. From age 10 to 30 yr, there was a decrease in reaction times and reaction time variability but no age-related effect in action file binding. The latter were corroborated by Bayesian data analyses. On the brain level, the developmental effects on response selection were associated with activation modulations in the superior parietal cortex (BA7). The results show that mechanisms of action execution and speed, but not those of action feature binding, are subject to age-related changes between the age of 10 and 30 yr. Different aspects of an action need to be integrated to allow smooth unfolding of behavior. We examine developmental effects in these processes and show that mechanisms of action execution and speed, but not those of action feature binding, are subject to age-related changes between the age of 10 and 30 yr.
执行目标导向运动由一系列复杂的预备机制组成。这种规划特别需要整合（或绑定）各种动作特征，这一过程被概念化为“事件编码理论”。理论考虑和实证研究表明，这些过程受到从青春期到成年的发展影响。本研究的目的是调查动作特征绑定过程中的年龄相关调制，并阐明从青春期前到成年早期的潜在神经生理发展。我们检查了一组年龄在 10 到 30 岁之间的健康参与者（n = 61），他们在嵌入式范式中执行了一系列双手反应选择任务。为了深入分析潜在的神经相关性，我们应用了 EEG 信号分解和源定位分析。整个组的行为结果在反应时间上没有显示出绑定效应，但在个体内反应变异性上显示出绑定效应。从 10 岁到 30 岁，反应时间和反应时间变异性下降，但动作文件绑定没有年龄相关的影响。贝叶斯数据分析证实了这一点。在大脑水平上，反应选择的发展效应与上顶叶皮层（BA7）的激活调制有关。结果表明，动作执行和速度的机制，但不是动作特征绑定的机制，在 10 到 30 岁之间的年龄变化中受到年龄的影响。需要整合动作的不同方面，以允许行为的顺利展开。我们检查了这些过程中的发展效应，并表明动作执行和速度的机制，但不是动作特征绑定的机制，在 10 到 30 岁之间的年龄变化中受到年龄的影响。
