Trajectories of frontal brain activity and socio‐emotional development in children

AbstractAsymmetric frontal brain activity is thought to reflect individual differences in approach‐ and avoidance‐oriented motivation and emotional experience. Using a prospective longitudinal design, the authors investigated whether trajectories of frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry in children (Mage = 6.39 years at enrollment) predicted subjective, behavioral, and autonomic indices of socioemotional processes. Resting frontal EEG activity was measured across four separate repeated assessments spanning approximately 2 years. Children's EEG asymmetry across assessments was best characterized by two trajectories: a stable right frontal asymmetry class (48.65%), and a stable left frontal asymmetry class (51.35%). At visit 4, children in the stable right frontal asymmetry displayed more avoidance‐related tendencies and children in the stable left frontal asymmetry class exhibited more approach‐related tendencies across social, emotional, and autonomic measures. These findings suggest that developmental patterns of resting frontal brain activity across the early school years may underlie approach‐ and avoidance‐related motivation and predict socio‐emotional processes in some children.

Trajectories of frontal brain activity and socio‐emotional development in children Journal Articles