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My Role
Timeline
Tools
TL;DR
Project Overview
- Investigate the developmental trajectory of human navigation system using behavioral experiment and neuroimaging techniques.
Contribution
- Led recruitment efforts, managed data collection processes, and conducted data analysis
Impact
- Published work on Cerebral Cortex Journal, use this link to check it out!
Learning
- Become familiar with various quantitative research methods and statistical analysis techniques, enhancing my ability to interpret and apply data-driven insights effectively.
background
Prior research has found 3 brain areas responsible for processing scenic information: parahippocampal place area (PPA), occipital place area (OPA), and retrosplenial cortext (RSC).
Specifically, the OPA is responsible for visually guided navigation, including moving about the immediately visible environment, avoiding boundaries and obstacles, etc. Research in adult OPA showed that it only becomes active when receiving visual information about walking, not crawling. This suggested that OPA may develop later, emerging only when children are walking.
In this project, we investigated when this "walking selectivity" in OPA emerge to understand the developmental trajectory of human navigational system using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques. An functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner was used to observe which part of the brain becomes active when viewing certain stimuli.
research question
When does walking selectivity in OPA emerge in development?
We conducted research on 5 and 8 year-old children, collecting both behavioral and cognitive data to understand the developmental trajectory of this capability.
behavioral study
Can younger children distinguish the view of a walker vs. crawler?
To test kids’ perceived sensitivity to different views of navigation, we showed children the following videos and asked whether the person in the video is walking or crawling. As a control, children were also asked if the person in the video is indoor or outdoor. A total of 16 5-year-old and 14 8-year-old children were tested.
Finding 1: Different brain systems for adults vs. child walking
We found that, while adults and 8-year-olds have no problem performing this task, 5-year-olds perform significantly worse despite being able to walk around. This suggests that the brain systems that help adults walk may be different from those that help young children walk. In other words, even though 5-year-olds can walk, they rely on different parts of the brain than adults do.
B) control task in the 5-year-olds (light gray) and the 8-year-olds (dark gray)
Neuroimaging study
How do children’s brains support walking?
Seeing the behavioral difference, we then showed the same set of stimuli to children in an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to cognitively understand the differences in 5- and 8-year-old system development. We used the same set of stimuli as the previous study, adding flying and scrambled videos as control. A total of 18 5-year-old and 18 8-year-old children were tested.
Finding 2: OPA does not show walking selectivity in 5-year-old
In OPA, 5-year-olds and 8-year-olds show different patterns of responses: 8-year-olds show selectivity to walking (i.e. greater than all other conditions), while 5-year-olds show similar responses to walking, crawling, and flying videos.
In contrast, in PPA and RSC, both the 5- and 8-year-olds show similar patterns of responses, indicating that the data quality is comparable between 5 years and 8 years.
These findings reveal that OPA does not represent information about walking in 5-year-olds but only does so in 8-year-olds.
A) OPA, B) MT (control), C) PPA, and D) RSC, relative to fixation.
Finding 3: PPA & RSC may support walking in young children until OPA reaches maturity
If OPA supports walking and yet is not mature in young children, what brain areas do children use to walk?
Our analysis revealed that PPA and RSC showed a significantly greater response to walking than other stimuli (crawling, flying, and scrambled). This suggested PPA and RSC are likely supporting walking in younger children until OPA fully matures.
conclusion
This lab research was published on Cerebral Cortex in March 2024. This research established a differential cognitive systems for adult vs. child walking and identified OPA as one of the primary differences between the 2 systems. Even though both walking, adult walking utilized OPA, an area not yet mature in younger children (e.g., 5-year-old).
We found promising data indicating PPA and RSC, instead of OPA, are supporting child walking. More future work is needed, however, to more thoroughly investigate this.
learnings
- Gained familiarity with various quantitative research methods and statistical analysis techniques, enhancing my ability to interpret and apply data-driven insights effectively.
- Strengthened critical thinking skills by evaluating the reliability and validity of research and data, allowing for a more discerning approach to integrating secondary research.
- Developed confidence in presenting research findings and clearly communicating study goals to parents during recruitment, ensuring transparency and fostering trust.
- Improved my ability to engage with participants, in this case young children, during research activities and enhanced communication with parents, ensuring a comfortable and productive research environment.
