An independent components analysis (ICA) approach to the study of developmental differences in the saccadic contingent negative variation

This study investigated the development of the saccadic CNV in 74 subjects aged 7-18 years, using pro- and anti-saccade tasks, and independent components analysis (ICA) for data analysis. Within the 2-stimulus paradigm, a central fixation point (S1) was followed 2.5 s later by a peripheral cue (S2) presented at 4° to the left or right of S1 in random order. The EEG was recorded from 40 electrodes applied over both hemispheres using a DC amplifier. With increasing age, pro- and anti-saccadic reaction times became faster, this effect being slightly more pronounced during childhood for the anti-saccade task. ICA revealed a lateral-posterior sCNV in younger children, and the known anterior-central sCNV in late adolescents. By contrast, the gaze maintenance negativity (GMNb), an anterior-central negativity accompanying the excursion of the eye, was present in all age groups. Our results underline the importance of topographical approaches in developmental ERP research and the usefulness of ICA. They suggest major task-dependent developmental differences in the spatial modulation of frontal-lobe sensitive ERP components.