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Development Of Episodic Memory Essay

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The neural basis of development of episodic memory is essential in understanding the development of this function during childhood; however, changes in the neural structure supporting these improvements are unknown. This knowledge may also help shed light on the development of autobiographical memory and it’s improvement throughout preschool years. Recent investigations using fMRI further support the vital role of the hippocampus in the development of episodic memory. For example, fMRI studies in school-age children, adolescents, and young adults show hippocampal activation during episodic memory games (for review see Ghetti & Bunge, 2012; Ghetti et al., 2010).
The hippocampus is well known for its protracted developmental course during childhood. For example, hippocampal volume has been shown to change rapidly during early preschool years (Gilmore et al., 2011; Gogtay et al., 2006). MRI studies have reported age-related differences in hippocampal volume across middle and late childhood (e.g., Grieve, Korgaonkar, Østby et al., …show more content…

However, contradictory results on this relationship have been found when the hippocampus was observed as a whole. When Ostby et al investigated the neural correlates of memory performance in children and adolescents after a 30 min and 1week delay, they found a positive correlation between hippocampal volume and memory performance (2009). Other studies (e.g., Sowell, Delis, Stiles, & Jernigan, 2001; Yurgelun-Todd, Killgore, & Cintron, 2003) found a weak negative correlation or no correlation. It is important to examine associations between hippocampal volume and development of episodic memory separately along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus (head, body, and tail) because regional specificity has been shown to contribute to hippocampal function (e.g. Gogtay et al. 2006; Insausti et al.

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