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

•We compared facilitation and interference effects of emotion on childrens' cognition.•We used wavelet analysis to investigate the underlying role of theta oscillations.•Emotion facilitation group had greater theta power for negative vs. neutral stimuli.•Theta oscillations index adaptive integration of emotion in cognition in children.

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 (< 500 ms). 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.