EEG patterns in early childhood differ between children prone to reward "bad" or "good" actors

Abstract

Background. Early childhood is a critically important period of development for the formation of personality. Many studies provide convincing proof that elements of moral behavior are observable already in the early stages of ontogenesis. Of particular interest for psychophysiologists is the question of whether the capacity for moral evaluation in younger children can be reflected in specific EEG patterns characteristic of them. Objective. To establish specific patterns of EEG oscillations, including the frontal alpha-rhythm asymmetry, in young children who are prone to evaluate differently the behaviors of "helping" and "hindering" puppets. Design. Fifty-six children aged 16 to 42 months participated in the study. To measure the level of moral evaluation in children, we used the method designed by B. Kenward and M. Dahl, with some modifications. The EEG was recorded when children distributed resources among the puppet-actors. Results. When deciding how to distribute resources among the puppets, the children with a higher moral evaluation index demonstrated an overall higher alpha rhythm amplitude, as well as a specific pattern of theta rhythm amplitude. The moral evaluation indices correlated with alpha asymmetry in the EEG loci F7 and F8. Conclusions. 1. Significant differences in EEG patterns were found between the children who showed different levels of moral evaluation. Children with higher indices of moral evaluation showed a higher alpha rhythm amplitude when deciding how to distribute resources among the puppets, depending on the puppets' "helping" or "hindering" behavior. 2. The theta rhythm oscillation patterns differed significantly between the samples of children with different moral evaluation indices. 3. Alpha asymmetry in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (loci F7, F8) was correlated with the moral evaluation indices, indicating an increased activation in the prefrontal regions of the left hemisphere in children with a more developed understanding of moral behavior.