Effortful control and resting state networks: A longitudinal EEG study

Resting state networks' (RSNs) architecture is well delineated in mature brain, but our understanding of their development remains limited. Particularly, there are few longitudinal studies. Besides, all existing evidence is obtained using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and there are no data on electrophysiological correlates of RSN maturation. We acquired three yearly waves of resting state EEG data in 80 children between 7 and 9 years and in 55 adults. Children's parents filled in the Effortful Control (EC) scale. Seed-based oscillatory power envelope correlation in conjunction with beamformer spatial filtering was used to obtain electrophysiological signatures of the default mode network (DMN) and two task-positive networks (TPN). In line with existing fMRI evidence, both cross-sectional comparison with adults and longitudinal analysis showed that the general pattern of maturation consisted in an increase in long-distance connections with posterior cortical regions and a decrease in short connections within prefrontal cortical areas. Latent growth curve analysis showed that EC scores were predicted by a linear increase over time in DMN integrity in alpha band and an increase in the segregation between DMN and TPN in beta band. These data confirm the neural basis of observed in fMRI research maturation-related changes and show that integrity of the DMN and sufficient level of segregation between DMN and TPN is a prerequisite for appropriate attentional and behavioral control.