Sweatman Hilary, He Ying, Lawrence Ross, Chai Xiaoqian J
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2025 Jun 6;74:101581. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101581.
Episodic memory is closely linked to the self and information related to the self tends to be better remembered. In adults, the brain's default mode network (DMN) supports self-referential thought and memory, with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) being important for both functions. How the DMN supports self-referential encoding in children, and where in the mPFC the processes of self-referencing and episodic memory interact, is unknown. We investigated the neural development of self-referential encoding in 83 participants ages 7-25. While undergoing MRI, participants viewed objects and answered self-referential or semantic questions. Self-referential compared to semantic encoding resulted in better recollection across all ages. Self-referential encoding was associated with greater activation across the DMN and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), with age-related increases in the dorsal mPFC and left IFG. Region-of-interest analyses revealed the interaction of self-referential episodic memory in the anterior mPFC and left hippocampus. The dorsal and anterior mPFC showed a counteraction effect of self-related thinking with the previously demonstrated age-related increase in DMN deactivation for subsequent memory encoding. These results suggest that self-referential facilitation matures and interacts with the episodic memory system in the brain to support the development of episodic memory from childhood to adulthood.
情景记忆与自我紧密相连，与自我相关的信息往往更容易被记住。在成年人中，大脑的默认模式网络（DMN）支持自我参照思维和记忆，内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）对这两种功能都很重要。DMN如何在儿童中支持自我参照编码，以及自我参照和情景记忆过程在mPFC的哪个部位相互作用，目前尚不清楚。我们调查了83名7至25岁参与者自我参照编码的神经发育情况。在进行磁共振成像（MRI）时，参与者观看物体并回答自我参照或语义问题。与语义编码相比，自我参照编码在所有年龄段都能带来更好的回忆。自我参照编码与DMN和额下回（IFG）的更大激活相关，背侧mPFC和左侧IFG随年龄增长而增加。感兴趣区域分析揭示了前mPFC和左侧海马体中自我参照情景记忆的相互作用。背侧和前mPFC显示出自我相关思维的反作用效应，以及之前证明的与年龄相关的DMN失活增加对后续记忆编码的影响。这些结果表明，自我参照促进作用逐渐成熟，并与大脑中的情景记忆系统相互作用，以支持情景记忆从儿童期到成年期的发展。
