Functional neuroanatomy of spatial working memory in children

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine spatial wo rking memory in 8- to Ii-year-old children tested under three conditions. I n the visual condition, children were asked to examine the location of a do t on a screen. In the motor condition, children were instructed to push a b utton that corresponded to the location of a dot presented on a screen. In the memory condition, children were asked to remember the location of a dot presented 1 or 2 trials previously. Subtracting the activation of the moto r condition from the memory condition revealed activity in the dorsal aspec ts of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior parietal and anterior cing ulate cortex These findings were also obtained in the analysis of the memor y minus visual conditions except that motor cortex activation was also obse rved. These findings parallel those reported in comparable studies of adult s and suggest that fMRI may be a useful means of examining function-structu re relations in developmental populations.