The role of the visual association cortex in scaffolding prefrontal cortex development: A novel mechanism linking socioeconomic status and executive function

Abstract

Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with executive function (EF) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) development. However, understanding of the specific aspects of SES that influence development of EF and the PFC remains limited. We briefly review existing literature on proposed mechanisms linking SES with EF. Then, we present a novel conceptual model arguing that early cognitive stimulation shapes EF and PFC development. We propose that cognitive stimulation drives lower-level sensory and perceptual processes that may impact EF and PFC development through reciprocal connections between the ventral visual stream and PFC. We argue that care-givers guide attention and associative learning, which provides children the opportunity to regulate attention and gain semantic knowledge. This experience in turn allows for opportunities to train the PFC to resolve conflict between stimuli with overlapping features and engage in increasingly complex computations as visual processing systems develop; this may lay the groundwork for development of EF. We review existing evidence for this model and end by highlighting how this conceptual model could launch future research questions.

Capturing environmental dimensions of adversity and resources in the context of poverty across infancy through early adolescence: A moderated nonlinear factor model

“…The HOME is intended to measure many aspects of a child's home environment. For the present study, we conducted a content analysis of the HOME items and selected an initial set of 61 items that were deemed substantively relevant to sociocognitive resources-namely, items pertaining to developmentally appropriate learning materials and parent-child interactions that help to scaffold children's learning (Rosen, Amso, & McLaughlin, 2019). Specifically, we surveyed items corresponding to the responsivity, mom/child behaviors, and the learning and language materials/resources subscales established elsewhere (Bradley & Caldwell, 1984;Bradley, 1994).…”

Sensitive periods in executive function development

“…To support an organism in acting to achieve a goal, EFs depend on integration of multiple streams of sensory information. Thus, the development of EFs depends on the earlier development of lower-order systems that supply this information [ 12 ], such as the visual and auditory senses. Additionally, EFs are structured hierarchically, with a shared component (which may reflect the ability to bias processing in line with goals) [ 13 ], and distinct components that reflect dissociable sub-functions [ 13 , 14 ].…”

What is an adaptive pattern of brain network coupling for a child? It depends on their environment

“…For example, experiences of threat and deprivation have distinct effects on medial and lateral prefrontal cortex development, respectively (McLaughlin et al, 2019); these effects may be mediated in part by lower-level visual and attentional processes (Rosen, Amso, et al, 2019). Clearly, there is a need for research which investigates the precise mechanisms through which the environment affects specific neural and cognitive systems, particularly given that much of this environmental variation is still within a species-typical range of experiences (Humphreys & Salo, 2020).…”