Frontal EEG Asymmetry and Regulation during Childhood

Abstract

Previous research suggests an association between frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetries and both positive and negative emotion reactivity. Specifically, right frontal EEG activation is associated with emotions of negative valence in both infants and adults, whereas left frontal EEG activation is associated with emotions of more positive valence. Relatively few studies have examined such associations in children. Moreover, research on mechanisms through which emotion reactivity is related to frontal EEG asymmetries is sparse. As one possible mechanism, we hypothesize that regulatory skills and behaviors developing rapidly during childhood play a critical role in linking frontal EEG asymmetries to emotion reactivity in children. To test the research hypothesis, 25 children were followed from early-to-middle childhood at two different points in time with a 4-year interview interval. Results show that individual variations in a number of regulatory behaviors among children are significantly associated with frontal EEG asymmetries. Our results provide support for the possibility of frontal EEG asymmetry informing the study of the development of regulation in children. The discussion of the findings is centered on potential risk for and resilience to children's emotional reactivity and regulation.