Proactive control in early and middle childhood: An ERP study

Children experience important cognitive control improvements in the transition to school. This study examined 4-5-year-olds' (n = 17) and 7-8-year-olds' (n = 22) ability to proactively deploy cognitive control. Children performed a cued task-switching paradigm presenting them with a cue indicating which attribute, color or shape, they should use to sort the upcoming stimulus. Following both cue and stimulus, we analyzed two event-related potentials: the P2 and P3, positive peaks reflecting sensory and attentional components of cognitive control, respectively. Following the cue, we also analyzed a positive slow-wave, indexing working memory engagement. We predicted that on switch trials, which required switching tasks, proactive control would result in larger cue-P3 amplitudes, reflecting recognition of the need to switch, and larger slow-wave amplitudes, reflecting maintenance of the new task-sets over the post-cue delay. This pattern was observed in both age groups. At the stimulus, in switch trials, both age groups had shorter stimulus-P2 latencies, consistent with processing facilitation. These results suggest that both 4-5- and 7-8-year-olds engaged cognitive control proactively. Older children, however, demonstrated better performance and larger cue-P2 amplitudes, suggesting more effective proactive control engagement in middle childhood.