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Poster #16 - Growth in Resting Frontal Cortex Activity Predicts Inhibitory Control at 4 Years: Implications for School Adjustment

Thu, March 21, 12:30 to 1:45pm, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

Improvements in higher-order cognitive skills (i.e., executive functions) across the preschool years have been theoretically linked to maturation of the frontal lobes (Diamond, 2002). However, few studies have investigated patterns of growth and change in frontal cortex function across the preschool period, or their associations with children’s emerging EF skills.

Resting measures of EEG reflecting frontal cortex function have been positively associated with working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) skills in infants and young children (Bell, 2001; Wolfe & Bell, 2004). Building on this work, the current study explored patterns of growth and change in frontal cortex function from 10 months to 4 years in a typically-developing sample (N=388) as predictors of EF skills in preschool. Based on previous empirical and theoretical work (Blair, Calkins, & Kopp, 2010; Hastings & Utendale, 2011), indirect effects from growth in frontal cortical activity to kindergarten academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems (through WM and IC) were expected.

Baseline EEG was collected at 10, 24, 36, and 48 months during quiet attentive states using James Long Company bioamps and software. Spectral power in the 6-9 Hz ‘developmental alpha’ band, the dominant frequency in infants and young children (Marshall, Bar-Haim, & Fox, 2002), was computed for medial/lateral frontal (F3/4, F7/8) and central (C3/4) electrode sites; composites were created by averaging these power values within each hemisphere. At 4 years children’s verbal WM and IC skills were observed via structured laboratory tasks. At 6.5 years, children’s math performance was observed from the Woodcock-Johnson and mothers reported on children’s externalizing behavior problems (CBCL). A series of growth curve models were conducted in Mplus (v.8) to (1) establish an overall pattern of growth, (2) assess variability around growth parameters, and (3) evaluate the significance of relations between growth parameter estimates and study variables. Infant surgent temperament was controlled for in the model, as it has been theoretically implicated in the development of behavior problems.

A quadratic change model fit the data well. Power values in both hemispheres increased linearly over time and the rate of growth decelerated with time (see Figure 1). Growth parameters were not significantly related to children’s verbal WM (see Figure 2). However, the linear and quadratic slope factors from the left hemisphere model were positively related to IC: children who exhibited larger increases in EEG alpha power and less deceleration in power growth over time performed better on a battery of IC tasks at age 4 than children who exhibited lesser growth in power over time. Through an influence on IC, growth in frontocentral EEG power across the study period was indirectly related to greater academic achievement and fewer behavior problems in kindergarten.

Findings suggest that behavioral IC is a mechanism through which frontal lobe maturation is related to children’s school achievement and behavior problems. Knowledge regarding the influence of environmental factors on brain development and the bidirectionality of early brain-behavior associations are important directions for future research.

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