The changing brain : neurocognitive development and training of working memory

Jolles, D.D. (2011)

Doctoral Thesis

It is well known that complex mental abilities develop at least until late adolescence. Yet, there are also skills that children master perfectly, sometimes even better than adults. The goal of this thesis was to learn more about the possibilities of cognitive functioning in children and young adults, and the constraints set by the developing brain. An fMRI training approach was used to examine age- and experience-related effects in the development of working memory and resting-state functional connectivity. More specifically, we studied age differences on task performance and brain activation during a working memory task with various demands and difficulty levels, both before and after 6 weeks of practice with the task. In addition, to learn more about the interaction between different brain regions, we also examined age differences and practice effects on functional connectivity during resting-state.

• Adolescence
• Cognitive control
• Development
• Functional connectivity
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• Plasticity
• Practice
• Resting-state
• Training
• Working memory

• All authors: Jolles, D.D.
• Supervisor: Rombouts, S.A.R.B.; Crone, E.A.; Buchem, M.A. van
• Committee: -
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University
• Date: 2011-09-27
• ISBN (print): 9789461820136
• Court: LEI Universiteit Leiden
• Sponsorship: The research presented in this thesis was supported by the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Gratama stichting and Leids Universiteits Fonds (granted to Eveline Crone), and VIDI grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO; to Serge Rombouts and Eveline Crone). Financial support for the publication of this thesis was kindly provided by Foundation Imago, Oegstgeest, The Netherlands.