Event-related theta oscillatory substrates for facilitation and interference effects of negative emotion on children's cognition

Publication date: Available online 22 February 2017
Source:International Journal of Psychophysiology
Author(s): Zhongqing Jiang, Allison C. Waters, Ying Liu, Wenhui Li, Lizhu Yang
We investigated the brain oscillatory contribution to emotion-cognition interaction in young children. Five-year-old participants (n=27) underwent EEG recording while engaged in a color identification task. Each trial began with an emotional prime. Response times indicated whether emotional primes facilitated or interfered with performance. Related effects were detected in theta-band power over parietal-occipital cortex, early in the response epoch (<500ms). Children in the emotion facilitation group showed greater theta synchronization for negative stimuli. The opposite trend was observed in the interference group. Results suggest a role for theta oscillations in children's adaptive response to emotional content in cognitive performance.



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