Many researchers emphasize the importance of brain development in early life as a key factor in shaping cognitive abilities, whether through the impact of early adversity or the maturation of specific brain regions like the prefrontal cortex. Early neural markers are crucial for predicting later developmental outcomes and recent research hopes to uncover specific mechanisms linking early life experiences to long term outcomes. One can even identify biological markers that can predict whether a child is more prone to academic or mental challenges or not. Electroencephalography (EEG) plays a vital role in this research, allowing for the identification of the biological markers and providing researchers to track changes in brain function across critical developmental windows and underlying brain development.
Within the article Relations Between Frontal EEG Maturation and Inhibitory Control in Preschool in the Prediction of Children’s Early Academic Skills, Dr. Martha Ann Bell analyzes the importance of early neural markers in predicting later developmental outcomes through cognitive maturation and inhibitory control. This study considers the children’s resting frontal EEG alpha power changes over a period of time ranging from 10 months to 4 years. Their EEG findings underscore the importance of frontal lobe maturation in early childhood for intellectual development and demonstrate how greater frontal alpha power serves as a neural marker for greater inhibitory control as the child ages.
Another perspective emerged when examining Association of Perceived Maternal Stress During the Perinatal Period With Electroencephalography Patterns in 2-Month-Old Infants by Dr. Laura Pierce. They examine the impact of early adversity on brain development within a smaller developmental window during the first 6 months from two month old infants to explore how adversity influences EEG spectral profiles. The study showcases how higher maternal educational levels are linked with increased spectral power in infant EEG across frequency bands such as alpha, beta, and gamma bands. They mention how these increased spectral powers are associated with improved cognitive abilities during childhood whereas a more “mature EEG” secondary to maternal stress are associated with disruptions in neurodevelopment processes that lead to “accelerated maturation of brain structures” (Pierce, 2019). This can lead to disruption in the normal time scale of how the brain grows and critical developmental periods ending sooner than they should. Dr.Pierce elucidates how external stressors can disrupt healthy development that is out of the infant’s own control. A protective factor proposed to prevent early adversity from leading to disruptions in neurodevelopment is maternal education, whereby a higher level of education for the mother is associated with better child development
Dr. Bell identified several limitations in her study, including the absence of external factors such as the impact of mothers' affect during the child's early development. The study by Dr. Pierce further expands on this by highlighting the impact of maternal educational background and its direct role in neural development during infancy. The study had taken measures from three brain wave types to properly assess the impact of maternal stress on infant EEG patterns and neurodevelopment.
References
Pierce, L. J., Thompson, B. L., Gharib, A., Schlueter, L., Reilly, E., Valdes, V., Roberts, S., Conroy, K., Levitt, P., & Nelson, C. A. (2019). Association of Perceived Maternal Stress During the Perinatal Period With Electroencephalography Patterns in 2-Month-Old Infants. JAMA pediatrics, 173(6), 561–570. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0492
Whedon, M., Perry, N. B., & Bell, M. A. (2020). Relations between frontal EEG maturation and inhibitory control in preschool in the prediction of children's early academic skills. Brain and cognition, 146, 105636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105636
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