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In this combined structural and functional MRI developmental study, we tested 48 participants aged 7-37 years on 3 simple face-processing tasks (identity, expression, and gaze task), which were designed to yield very similar performance levels across the entire age range. The same participants then carried out 3 more difficult out-of-scanner tasks, which provided in-depth measures of changes in performance. For our analysis we adopted a novel, systematic approach that allowed us to differentiate age- from performance-related changes in the BOLD response in the 3 tasks, and compared these effects to concomitant changes in brain structure. The processing of all face aspects activated the core face-network across the age range, as well as additional and partially separable regions. Small task-specific activations in posterior regions were found to increase with age and were distinct from more widespread activations that varied as a function of individual task performance (but not of age). Our results demonstrate that activity during face-processing changes with age, and these effects are still observed when controlling for changes associated with differences in task performance. Moreover, we found that changes in white and gray matter volume were associated with changes in activation with age and performance in the out-of-scanner tasks.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/cercor/bhs150

Type

Journal article

Journal

Cereb Cortex

Publication Date

07/2013

Volume

23

Pages

1630 - 1642

Keywords

Brain development, Cortical specialization, Developmental neuroimaging, Face processing, Adolescent, Adult, Aging, Brain, Brain Mapping, Child, Child, Preschool, Face, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Task Performance and Analysis, Young Adult