Chunk #18 — Changes in Frontal EEG Coherence across Infancy Predict Cognitive Abilities at Age 3: The Mediating Role of Attentional Control — EEG Coherence and the Estimation of Neural Networks
Researchers can identify whether specific neural regions are working together during a particular cognitive process by examining event-related changes in EEG coherence (e.g., baseline-to-task) between their corresponding electrode sites. In a study with preschool aged children, Swingler, Willoughby, and Calkins (2011) found that task-related changes in frontal EEG coherence pairs distinguished between successful and unsuccessful performance on an EF battery. Specifically, increases in both right and left frontal EEG coherence from baseline to task were positively associated with performance, suggesting that as synaptic connections between frontal regions increased, children’s EF performance also increased. Variation in the development of these synaptic connections in preceding years may have accounted for variation in neural response patterns in this study.
