Neural mechanisms of conflict processing in children from different socio-economic backgrounds
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1
University of Granada, Spain
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2
The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Spain
Executive control is involved in cognitive processing and behavioral regulation. It can be measured in the lab with conflict tasks that require inhibition of a dominant response suggested by irrelevant stimulus. Performance of this task activates the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prefrontal regions. A growing body of evidence indicates that socioeconomic status (SES) influences neural development, particularly brain systems sustaining language and executive functions. We examined conflict resolution in a group of 4 to 5 year-olds children from different SES (12 low / 12 high SES) using child-friendly conflict tasks while their brain activation was registered with a high-density EEG system. As indicators of SES we included: income per family member, parental education, and presence of educational resources at home. We found that the congruency of flankers modulated the amplitude of the ERP components, being more negative for incongruent than for congruent trials. Low SES children show differences in brain activity between conditions at approximately 440 ms after target in anterior midline and nearby left channels, while high SES show a more posterior and generalized effect around 520 ms after target. In adults, this effect is observed at posterior frontal midline channels and is associated to the dorsal ACC. In previous studies, we had found changes in brain activation topography in response to conflict across development, where activation moves from anterior to posterior areas with maturation. Our data suggest that high SES children show more mature patterns of activation than children from low SES with respect to conflict resolution. This is in line with evidence indicating that SES has an impact in the efficiency of brain systems underlying cognitive control. Funding: Supported by the Spanish Ministery of Education and Science (MEC) and The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
Keywords:
Cognition,
EEG
Conference:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster Sessions: Neurophysiology of Cognition and Attention
Citation:
Abundis
A,
Combita
LM,
Pozuelos-López
JP,
Paz-Alonso
PM and
Rueda
MR
(2011). Neural mechanisms of conflict processing in children from different socio-economic backgrounds.
Conference Abstract:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00453
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Received:
25 Nov 2011;
Published Online:
28 Nov 2011.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Alicia Abundis, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, aliciaabundis@gmail.com