Early emotion discrimination in 8- to 10-year-old children: Magnetoencephalographic correlates

Emotional cues motivate attention and modulate event-related potentials as well as magnetic fields in adults. Central components enhanced by emotional content are Early Posterior Negativity (EPN, 150–300 ms) and Late Positive Potential (LPP, >300 ms). Previous electroencephalography studies in children revealed a differentiation of the late component in response to emotional scenes, but failed to detect an EPN effect. Twenty-two children aged 8–10 years saw 200 arousing pleasant and non-arousing neutral pictures in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) design, while event-related magnetic fields were recorded with whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG). Analysis of MEG data based on individual picture ratings yielded LPP-m but also EPN-m effects with topography and latency resembling that of adults. Thus, the mechanism of motivated attention at early processing stages (>150 ms) appears mature in children of this age group.

► Emotional modulation of event-related magnetic fields in 8–10 year-old children. ► Rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of pleasant and neutral pictures. ► Event-related magnetic fields analyzed based on individual picture ratings. ► Effect of picture valence on early (EPN-m) and late (LPP-m) components as in adults. ► EPN-m indicates a mature network of motivated attention at early processing stages.