A developmental reduction of the excitation:inhibition ratio in association cortex during adolescence
Abstract
Adolescence is hypothesized to be a critical period for the development of association cortex. A reduction of the excitation:inhibition (E:I) ratio is a hallmark of critical period development; however, it has been unclear how to assess the development of the E:I ratio using noninvasive neuroimaging techniques. Here, we used pharmacological fMRI with a GABAergic benzodiazepine challenge to empirically generate a model of E:I ratio based on multivariate patterns of functional connectivity. In an independent sample of 879 youth (ages 8 to 22 years), this model predicted reductions in the E:I ratio during adolescence, which were specific to association cortex and related to psychopathology. These findings support hypothesized shifts in E:I balance of association cortices during a neurodevelopmental critical period in adolescence. Inhibitory maturation of the association cortex reflects an adolescent critical period.
- Publication:
-
Science Advances
- Pub Date:
- February 2022
- DOI:
- 10.1126/sciadv.abj8750
- Bibcode:
- 2022SciA....8.8750L