EEG Dynamics of Error Processing and Associated Behavioral Adjustments in Preschool Children.

Preschool children show neural responses and make behavioral adjustments immediately following an error. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding how neural responses to error predict subsequent behavioral adjustments during childhood. The aim of our study was to explore the neural dynamics of error processing and associated behavioral adjustments in preschool children from unsatisfied basic needs (UBN) homes. Using EEG recordings during a go/no-go task, we examined within-subject associations between the error-related negativity (ERN), frontal theta power, post-error slowing, and post-error accuracy. Post-error accuracy increased linearly with post-error slowing, and there was no association between the neural activity of error processing and post-error accuracy. However, during successful error recovery, the frontal theta power, but not the ERN amplitude, was associated positively with post-error slowing. These findings indicated that preschool children from UBN homes adjusted their behavior following an error in an adaptive form and that the error-related theta activity may be associated with the adaptive forms of post-error behavior. Furthermore, our data support the adaptive theory of post-error slowing and point to some degree of separation between the neural mechanisms represented by the ERN and theta.

Increased integration of functional connectivity after cognitive intervention in preschoolers from low socioeconomic status.

Cognitive interventions that involve executive functions (EF)-demanding activities are effective in changing task-related brain activity in children from homes with low socioeconomic status (SES). However, less is known about the efficiency of EF-based interventions in modifying segregation and integration properties of the functional neural organization during a resting state. Further, the consideration of the initial cognitive performance in the design of interventions and its role in the outcome of cognitive training has been poorly studied. The present study aimed to examine the impact of two individualized cognitive interventions with EF-demanding activities on brain connectivity in preschoolers (n = 79) from low-SES homes in Argentina using complex network analysis. At baseline, participants were classified as high- or low-performers based on their performance in an inhibitory control task, and then they were assigned into intervention and control groups within each performance level. Before and after the intervention, the neural activity of each child was recorded at rest using a mobile electroencephalogram device. We found significant intervention-related changes in global efficiency, global strength, and the strength of long-range connections in the θ frequency band in the intervention low-performing group. These findings support the idea that patterns of processing crucial information in the brain may be modified in children from low-SES homes through an EF-based intervention. Finally, these findings show different intervention-related effects on neural activity between children with low and high initial cognitive performance and add new evidence about the interaction between individual characteristics and intervention approaches. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Impact of an individualized and adaptive cognitive intervention on working memory, planning and fluid reasoning processing in preschoolers from poor homes.

Contemporary evidence shows that different intervention approaches can be effective in improving executive cognitive performance in preschoolers from poor homes. However, several aspects about the role of individual and contextual differences in intervention effects remain to be elucidated. The present study aimed to explore the impact of a computerized executive cognitive intervention with lab-based tasks in preschoolers from Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN) homes. In the context of a randomized controlled design, different activities were administered to children according to their baseline performance in a variety of cognitive tasks tapping inhibitory control, working memory, and planning demands (i.e., high- and low-performance intervention and control groups). Results suggested that the impact of the intervention was shown preferentially by high-performers in Tower of London and K-Bit tasks, who increased their performances in the posttest assessment. This finding supports the importance of considering individual and contextual differences in the design of interventions aimed at changing the cognitive performance of children from poor homes.

Implicancias sobre la Adaptación de la Escala de Inteligencia para Niños de Wechsler IV (WISC-IV) en Argentina. Corrección de WISC-IV según diferentes baremos argentinos / Implications on the Adaptation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children IV (WISC-IV) in Argentina. Comparison of the WISC-IV Standardized Data from two Argentine Regions

Resumen La utilización de pruebas psicológicas validadas y de confiabilidad comprobadas aportan evidencias valiosas al profesional en una multiplicidad de actividades, que comprenden desde el diagnóstico, el plan y el seguimiento de tratamiento hasta la selección laboral, la orientación vocacional, las pericias judiciales e investigación; sin embargo, no siempre se disponen de baremos adaptados a la región en la que se pretende aplicar un instrumento y, en ocasiones, siquiera corresponden a datos normativos del país. En Argentina, la WISC-IV fue adaptada considerando población perteneciente al Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, no se incluye muestra de otras regiones del extenso país. Por lo tanto, se realizó una investigación cuantitativa no experimental, exploratoria- descriptiva, con el objetivo de determinar la importancia de contar con baremos adaptados de la WISC-IV para diferentes regiones de un mismo país; para ello, se analizaron comparativamente los índices obtenidos por 520 escolares de 6 a 14 años (agrupados según los rangos de edad 6-8, 9-11 y 12-14) al aplicar dos baremos argentinos (Buenos Aires y Resistencia) para su corrección mediante un análisis de ANOVA mixto. Los resultados evidenciaron diferencias significativas según el baremo sea de Buenos Aires o de Resistencia, en 4 de los 5 índices de la WISC-IV, al abarcar tanto en aspectos relacionados con el funcionamiento cognitivo general (i.e., CIT), como en campos más específicos (i.e., memoria de trabajo - IMO, velocidad de procesamiento - IVP y razonamiento perceptivo - IRP); además, se observaron diferencias entre baremos en CIT, ICV, IRP e IMO y sugerir comportamientos diferentes en los distintos índices según el tipo de baremo aplicado en los diferentes grupos de edad. Los resultados sugieren que la corrección de la escala a un/a estudiante, según las normativas establecidas para una región con características sociodemográficas distintas a la que pertenece el individuo, podría derivar en errores interpretativos de sus aptitudes cognitivas, por lo que se determina la importancia de contar con adaptaciones de las pruebas psicológicas para arribar a interpretaciones que eviten infra o sobrevalorar sus puntuaciones.

Abstract: The use of validated psychological tests provides valuable evidence to specialists in a multiplicity of activities (e.g., predicting diagnoses, guiding treatment and follow-up plans, guiding the job selection process and vocational orientation, determining disability levels for medico-legal purposes). However, a psychological instrument is not generally adapted and standardized in the country in which it is intended to be applied. In Argentina, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) was standardized in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area; but did not include samples from other regions across the vast country. This situation is problematic, because Argentina presents disparities in its socio-demographic characteristics across the territory, and an accurate interpre- tation of intelligence test performance, depends on the use of appropriately standardized data. Hence, a quantitative non-experimental, exploratory-descriptive study was conducted to determine the importance of obtaining locally standardized data for WISC-IV. To this end, the indices obtained from 520 children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years (grouped according to age ranges 6-8, 9-11 and 12-14) were comparatively analyzed, by analyzing two Argentine adaptations (Buenos Aires and Resistencia). Results revealed differences between normative data from the country's different regions in four indices, which included both aspects of general cognitive functioning (i.e., CIT) and more specific processes (i.e., working memory - IMO, processing speed - IVP, and perceptual reasoning - IRP). These results suggest that the assessment of students, according to non-locally established standardized data, could lead to interpretative errors regarding their cognitive abilities. Thus, the study contributes to knowledge about the importance of using contextually appropriate standardized data in the implementation of intelligence tests, to arrive at evaluations that avoid over- or under- estimating students' abilities.

Inteligencia, funciones ejecutivas y rendimiento académico de adolescentes de 13 y 14 años de Resistencia (Chaco, Argentina) / Intelligence, Executive Functions and Academic Achievement in Adolescents of 13 and 14 years old

Resumen El ámbito educativo, indudablemente, puede beneficiarse de los aportes de las neurociencias, enfoque desde el cual, en este estudio, se plantearon los objetivos de explorar la relación existente entre la capacidad intelectual (CI), las funciones ejecutivas (FE) y el rendimiento académico (RA) en adolescentes; analizar si la CI y las FE constituyen variables predictoras del RA, e indagar el funcionamiento ejecutivo de la muestra según la CI fuera baja o alta. Para ello, se realizó un estudio no experimental, transversal, descriptivo-correlacional, en el que participaron 36 sujetos de 13-14 años. Los instrumentos de evaluación utilizados fueron WISC-IV, BANFE-2 y el registro de calificaciones provisto por la institución educativa. Los datos obtenidos fueron sometidos a análisis descriptivos, de correlación y de regresión. Los resultados arrojaron correlación positiva significativa entre las variables CI y FE, y entre la prueba WISC-IV y RA, determinándose el CI como variable predictiva del RA, mientras que en relación con las FE evaluadas con BANFE-2 solo se encontró asociación estadísticamente significativa con las subpruebas correspondientes al área prefrontal anterior. Además se observaron diferencias significativas entre los grupos de alta y baja CI en las FE de planificación, memoria de trabajo (MT) y fluidez verbal, en favor del grupo de alto desempeño intelectual. La conclusión se centra en la importancia de involucrar los hallazgos sobre los diferentes procesos cognitivos en el diseño de las estrategias pedagógicas para favorecer al máximo el RA del estudiante. Finalmente, las limitaciones versaron en relación con el tamaño muestral, y se proponen futuras líneas de estudio que posibiliten generalizar los resultados.

Abstract The study of the relationship between executive functions, intellectual abilities, and academic achievement plays an important role in the field of cognitive neuroscience, particularly for their implications in the educational field. Intelligence has been linked to executive functions. In fact, core aspects of intelligence, such as reasoning, problem-solving and planning, are often included in the wide range of frontal lobe functions and over laps with the so-called higher-level executive functions. In addition, executive functioning abilities are associated with skills put in play when participating in learning activities at school. In this sense, different studies have demonstrated that a lower performance on executive function measures typically is associated with a lower performance across different academic areas. The aim of this work was focused on the relationship between intelligence and executive functions, and their ability to predict academic achievement. In the present study, a non-experimental, transversal and descriptive-correlational design was implemented to explore the relationship between intellectual abilities, executive functions, and academic performance in a sample of 37 adolescents (17 girls) aged 13-14 years. The information was collected through the school reports of participants, and their performance on tests BANFE-2 (neuropsychological battery of the executive functions and frontal lobes) and WISC-IV (Wechsler intelligence scale for children 4th Ed.). Also, adolescents were classified into two groups (high- and low performers) based on their performance on the general intelligence score. Participants with IQ scores below the median were assigned to the low-performing group, while participants with IQ scores above the median were assigned to the high-performing group. The data obtained were subjected to descriptive, correlation and regression analyses. Results showed a pattern of positive and significant correlations between executive functions variables (BANFE-2) and intelligence scores (WISC-IV). The 69 % of significant correlations indicated a moderate - strong degree of association (i. e., 49

Impact of an Individualized Cognitive Training Intervention in Preschoolers from Poor Homes.

Over the last few decades, different interventions were shown to be effective in changing cognitive performance in preschoolers from poor homes undertaking tasks with executive demands. However, this evidence also showed that not all children included in the intervention groups equally increased their performance levels, which could be related to individual and contextual variability. The present study aimed to explore the impact of a computerized cognitive training intervention with lab-based tasks in preschoolers from Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN) homes under the consideration of their baseline performance. In the context of a randomized controlled trial design, different interventions were administered to children according to their baseline performance in a variety of cognitive tasks (i.e., executive attention, inhibitory control, working memory, and planning demands). The results showed different patterns of impact on performance depending on the experimental group, supporting the importance of considering individual and contextual differences in the design of interventions aimed at optimizing executive functions in poverty-impacted sample populations in early stages of development.

Emocionalidad, conducta, habilidades sociales, y funciones ejecutivas en niños de nivel inicial / Emotionality, behavior, social skills, and executive functions in entry-level children

Durante el nivel inicial, los infantes suelen expresar respuestas emocionales y conductuales de manera impulsiva, dado que carecen de la aptitud de abstenerse de efectuar conductas que no son apropiadas a la ocasión. En este punto, las Habilidades Sociales (HHSS) y las Funciones Ejecutivas (FE) serán facilitadoras de la interacción asertiva con otros, favoreciendo en control comportamental y evitando los Problemas de Conducta (PC). El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la correlación entre las FE, la percepción parental en relación a las emociones, y la percepción de docentes respecto de las HHSS y la conducta en niños del nivel inicial de educación; a tal fin se realizó un estudio cuantitativo, transversal, descriptivo-correlacional, en base a un diseño no experimental. La muestra estuvo integrada por 36 niños/as de nivel inicial, a quienes se les administró una batería neuropsicológica, además se incluyeron dos cuestionarios, uno para padres y otro para docentes. Se encontró correlación entre HHSS y PC; entre Planeación y Emociones; y entre Atención y Concentración y Memoria de Trabajo. Se concluye que los niños de nivel inicial poseen una conducta socialmente habilidosa, y manejan sus emociones sin dificultad indistintamente del sexo, según la perspectiva parental y docente

During the initial level, the children usually express emotional and behavioral responses impulsively, since they lack the ability to refrain from behaviors that are not appropriate to the occasion. At this point, Social Skills (SS) and Executive Functions (EF) will facilitate assertive interaction with others, favoring behavioral control and avoiding Conduct Problems (CP). The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between EFs, parental perception in relation to emotions, and teachers' perception of SS and behavior in children at the initial level of education. To this end, a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study was carried out, based on a non-experimental design. The sample consisted of 36 children of initial level, who were administered a neuropsychological battery, and two questionnaires were included, one for parents and another for teachers. Correlation was found between SS and CP; between Planning and Emotions; and between Attention and Concentration and Work Memory. It is concluded that the children of initial level have a socially skilled behavior, and handle their emotions without difficulty regardless of sex, according to the parental and teaching perspective

Electrophysiological approaches in the study of cognitive development outside the lab.

The use of human neuroimaging technology provides knowledge about several emotional and cognitive processes at the neural level of organization. In particular, electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques allow researchers to explore high-temporal resolution of the neural activity that underlie the dynamics of cognitive processes. Although EEG research has been mostly applied in laboratory settings, recently a low-cost, portable EEG apparatus was released, which allows exploration of different emotional and cognitive processes during every-day activities. We compared a wide range of EEG measures using both a low-cost portable and a high-quality laboratory system. EEG recordings were done with both systems while participants performed an active task (Go/NoGo) and during their resting-state. Results showed similar waveforms in terms of morphology and amplitude of the ERPs, and comparable effects between conditions of the applied Go/NoGo paradigm. In addition, the contribution of each frequency to the entire EEG was not significantly different during resting-state, and fluctuations in amplitude of oscillations showed long-range temporal correlations. These results showed that low-cost, portable EEG technology can provide an alternative of enough quality for measuring brain activity outside a laboratory setting, which could contribute to the study of different populations in more ecological contexts.

Social neuroscience: undoing the schism between neurology and psychiatry.

Multiple disorders once jointly conceived as "nervous diseases" became segregated by the distinct institutional traditions forged in neurology and psychiatry. As a result, each field specialized in the study and treatment of a subset of such conditions. Here we propose new avenues for interdisciplinary interaction through a triangulation of both fields with social neuroscience. To this end, we review evidence from five relevant domains (facial emotion recognition, empathy, theory of mind, moral cognition, and social context assessment), highlighting their common disturbances across neurological and psychiatric conditions and discussing their multiple pathophysiological mechanisms. Our proposal is anchored in multidimensional evidence, including behavioral, neurocognitive, and genetic findings. From a clinical perspective, this work paves the way for dimensional and transdiagnostic approaches, new pharmacological treatments, and educational innovations rooted in a combined neuropsychiatric training. Research-wise, it fosters new models of the social brain and a novel platform to explore the interplay of cognitive and social functions. Finally, we identify new challenges for this synergistic framework.

Attention, in and Out: Scalp-Level and Intracranial EEG Correlates of Interoception and Exteroception.

Interoception, the monitoring of visceral signals, is often presumed to engage attentional mechanisms specifically devoted to inner bodily sensing. In fact, most standardized interoceptive tasks require directing attention to internal signals. However, most studies in the field have failed to compare attentional modulations between internally- and externally-driven processes, thus probing blind to the specificity of the former. Here we address this issue through a multidimensional approach combining behavioral measures, analyses of event-related potentials and functional connectivity via high-density electroencephalography, and intracranial recordings. In Study 1, 50 healthy volunteers performed a heartbeat detection task as we recorded modulations of the heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) in three conditions: exteroception, basal interoception (also termed interoceptive accuracy), and post-feedback interoception (sometimes called interoceptive learning). In Study 2, to evaluate whether key interoceptive areas (posterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, and somatosensory cortex) were differentially modulated by externally- and internally-driven processes, we analyzed human intracranial recordings with depth electrodes in these regions. This unique technique provides a very fine grained spatio-temporal resolution compared to other techniques, such as EEG or fMRI. We found that both interoceptive conditions in Study 1 yielded greater HEP amplitudes than the exteroceptive one. In addition, connectivity analysis showed that post-feedback interoception, relative to basal interoception, involved enhanced long-distance connections linking frontal and posterior regions. Moreover, results from Study 2 showed a differentiation between oscillations during basal interoception (broadband: 35-110 Hz) and exteroception (1-35 Hz) in the insula, the amygdala, the somatosensory cortex, and the inferior frontal gyrus. In sum, this work provides convergent evidence for the specificity and dynamics of attentional mechanisms involved in interoception.

Behavioral and Electrophysiological Correlates of Memory Binding Deficits in Patients at Different Risk Levels for Alzheimer's Disease.

Deficits in visual short-term memory (VSTM) binding have been proposed as an early and specific marker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, no studies have explored the neural correlates of this domain in clinical categories involving prodromal stages with different risk levels of conversion to AD. We assessed underlying electrophysiological modulations in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), patients in the MCI stages of familial AD carrying the mutation E280A of the presenilin-1 gene (MCI-FAD), and healthy controls. Moreover, we compared the behavioral performance and neural correlates of both patient groups. Participants completed a change-detection VSTM task assessing recognition of changes between shapes or shape-color bindings, presented in two consecutive arrays (i.e., study and test) while event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Changes always occurred in the test array and consisted of new features replacing studied features (shape-only) or features swapping across items (shape-color binding). Both MCI and MCI-FAD patients performed worse than controls in the shape-color binding condition. Early electrophysiological activity (100-250 ms) was significantly reduced in both clinical groups, particularly over fronto-central and parieto-occipital regions. However, shape-color binding performance and their reduced neural correlates were similar between MCI and MCI-FAD. Our results support the validity of the VSTM binding test and their neural correlates in the early detection of AD and highlight the importance of studies comparing samples at different risk for AD conversion. The combined analysis of behavioral and ERP data gleaned with the VSTM binding task can offer a valuable memory biomarker for AD.

Disentangling interoception: insights from focal strokes affecting the perception of external and internal milieus.

Interoception is the moment-to-moment sensing of the physiological condition of the body. The multimodal sources of interoception can be classified into two different streams of afferents: an internal pathway of signals arising from core structures (i.e., heart, blood vessels, and bronchi) and an external pathway of body-mapped sensations (i.e., chemosensation and pain) arising from peripersonal space. This study examines differential processing along these streams within the insular cortex (IC) and their subcortical tracts connecting frontotemporal networks. Two rare patients presenting focal lesions of the IC (insular lesion, IL) or its subcortical tracts (subcortical lesion, SL) were tested. Internally generated interoceptive streams were assessed through a heartbeat detection (HBD) task, while those externally triggered were tapped via taste, smell, and pain recognition tasks. A differential pattern was observed. The IC patient showed impaired internal signal processing while the SL patient exhibited external perception deficits. Such selective deficits remained even when comparing each patient with a group of healthy controls and a group of brain-damaged patients. These outcomes suggest the existence of distinguishable interoceptive streams. Results are discussed in relation with neuroanatomical substrates, involving a fronto-insulo-temporal network for interoceptive and cognitive contextual integration.