Children’s EEG Modulation during Anticipation of Touch: Mu Desynchronization relates to Executive Function and Income

• In Event: 3-013 - Advances in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience of Executive Function

Integrative Statement

The ability to selectively direct attention to a specific location or modality is a key neurocognitive skill that has been identified as a precursor to self-regulation in hierarchical models of executive function (EF) development (Garon et al., 2008). One important facet of selective attention is anticipation, or using cues and/or prior experience to proactively control the focus of attention. This foundational skill that has been proposed to bridge attention to basic bodily sensations and higher-order cognition (Pezzulo, 2012). We were interested in investigating the relations between individual differences in anticipatory attention to the body and complex cognitive tasks in 6- to 8-year-old children, who can exert proactive control over their attention (Braver et al., 2012). Our investigation focuses on changes in neural activity during anticipation of upcoming tactile stimulation and its potential relation to a battery of cognitive skills (measured by the NIH Toolbox). Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity over sensorimotor cortex was measured after a visual cue directed children to monitor their right or left hand in anticipation of tactile stimulation. Prior to delivery of the tactile stimulus, we observed a desynchronization of the alpha-range mu rhythm over central electrode sites (C3/C4) contralateral to the cue direction, similar to the neural response evident in adults (Shen et al., 2017). To address our hypotheses on the relations between cognitive skills and bodily anticipation, regressions were conducted predicting scores on Flanker, Card Sort, Receptive Language, and Processing Speed tasks from contralateral and ipsilateral mu modulation. Greater contralateral mu desynchronization was associated with better executive function task performance. Flanker score was related to contralateral mu amplitude, t (79) = -2.934, β = -0.314, p = 0.004, but not with ipsilateral mu amplitude. Similarly, Card Sort score was also related with contralateral mu amplitude, t (79) = -2.307, β= -0.254, p= 0.024, but not with ipsilateral mu amplitude. The extent of anticipatory mu desynchronization was not related to Processing Speed or Receptive Language scores. Our results complement findings on proactive control of visual attention as supporting specific task-switching and working memory abilities (Elke & Wiebe, 2017; Schimi et al., 2015), suggesting the potential of anticipation as a precursor or predictor of self-regulation more broadly. Further, children’s anticipatory mu desynchronization may have utility as a specific neural marker of attention to the body.
Follow-up regressions indicated that the relation between anticipatory mu desynchronization and executive function was moderated by contextual factors, such that the effect was mainly driven by children from higher-income households. Children from lower-income households exhibited a less pronounced reduction in the contralateral mu rhythm prior to the delivery of the tactile stimulus, with the magnitude of this change not being significantly related to EF performance. The finding of enhanced preparatory EEG activity in children from higher-income families supports the notion that the early environment may shape neural activity related to attentional focusing, prediction, and goal-directed action (Hackman & Farah, 2009). We will discuss the potential malleability of children’s anticipatory abilities to aspects of the environment, including parenting, selective attention training, and bodily awareness.

Authors

• Staci Meredith Weiss, Temple University
  Presenting Author

• Andrew Meltzoff, University of Washington
  Non-Presenting Author

• Peter Marshall, Temple University
  Non-Presenting Author