Characterizing neural indices of cognitive control in young children: A school-based ERP study with naturalistic stimuli.

A large body of work has advanced our understanding of the neurodevelopment of cognitive control in early childhood. Such work frequently used simplistic visual stimuli, making them well-suited for event-related potentials (ERP) research. However, more naturalistic stimuli may better mirror visually rich environments where cognitive control is engaged. Here, we measured ERPs from 171 kindergartners at public schools with diverse socioeconomic characteristics during a Go/No-Go task using photographs of animals in natural scenes. Instead of the commonly reported N2 in Go/No-Go tasks with simplistic stimuli, the earlier-occurring ERP morphology was dominated by a P2. The later-occurring ERP morphology was consistent with the P3b reported in Go/No-Go tasks with simplistic stimuli. Both the P2 and P3b displayed more positive mean amplitudes for No-Go compared to Go trials. Additionally, P2 amplitudes decreased with age for No-Go stimuli whereas P3b amplitudes decreased for both Go and No-Go stimuli, indicating different developmental changes across earlier- and later-occurring neural processes. Only larger P3b mean amplitudes were associated with better task performance, suggesting that variability in later-occurring neural processes may be more closely related to individual differences in behavioral performance. These findings suggest that earlier-occurring neural indices of cognitive control may not generalize across paradigms varying in stimulus complexity, while later-occurring indices may. Furthermore, results indicate that earlier- and later-occurring ERPs exhibit distinct age-related differences and associations with behavioral performance. Furthermore, our study highlights the feasibility of conducting school-based developmental cognitive neuroscience research, facilitating the inclusion of children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.