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Relationships between EEG θ and α spectral amplitudes and cognitive ability in preschool children

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Abstract

Relationships between individual θ and α EEG amplitudes and intelligence were studied in five- to six-year-old children. EEG was recorded in 83 children in three functional states: eyes closed, sustained visual attention, and attention to adult’s speech. Intelligence was assessed using Kaufman’s K-ABC test. Relationships between the EEG parameters and intelligence were studied using correlational and regression analyses. The results suggest that stable individual differences in local spectral amplitudes (SA) in the EEG θ and α bands predict reliably (when the covariant proportions of their variances is controlled) the level of simultaneous data processing in children under the conditions of sustained attention but not at rest. Thus, the individual features of the limbic thalamocortical and corticothalamic attentional systems are expected to influence cognitive abilities at the preschool age.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia

    S. I. Novikova, E. V. Malakhovskaya, M. M. Tsetlin & A. I. Filatov

  2. Psychological Institute, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia

    N. P. Pushina, I. N. Posikera & T. A. Stroganova

Authors
  1. S. I. Novikova
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  2. E. V. Malakhovskaya
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  3. N. P. Pushina
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  4. M. M. Tsetlin
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  5. A. I. Filatov
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  6. I. N. Posikera
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  7. T. A. Stroganova
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Original Russian Text © S.I. Novikova, E.V. Malakhovskaya, N.P. Pushina, M.M. Tsetlin, A.I. Filatov, I.N. Posikera, T.A. Stroganova, 2009, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2009, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 20–27.

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Novikova, S.I., Malakhovskaya, E.V., Pushina, N.P. et al. Relationships between EEG θ and α spectral amplitudes and cognitive ability in preschool children. Hum Physiol 35, 409–415 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119709040033

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119709040033

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