Electophysiological and cognitive correlations in children from low-SES homes

PIETTO, MARCOS L.; KAMIENKOWSKI, JUAN; LIPINA, SEBASTIAN J.

Neuroscience and Social Science: The Missing Link

Springer

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017; p. 1 - 45

The influence of adverse environmental conditions on the organization and reorganization of the brain structure and function involve different neural systems at different levels of organization. The electroencephalographic measures provide high-temporal resolution methods for directly examining neural activity that underlie the temporal sequence in which neurocognitive processes occur. We conducted a systematic review of the methods that are applied to the study of the influence of childhood poverty on cognitive development. The paradigms implemented in the reviewed studies were designed primarily to measure neural activity that is associated with inhibitory control, selective attention, and unrelated task-event activity. Differences that were related to socioeconomic disparities were found in 18 EEG/ERP studies, which suggest that: (a) there are discrepancies in neural activity that underlie interference control mechanisms and auditory sensory system at early stages of information processing; and (b) there are delays in EEG maturation of brain oscillations in frontal regions. These techniques have shown a predictive power over cognitive and academic performance of children. Therefore, we speculate that electrophysiological markers might be suitable in the context of interventions that are aimed to evaluate the efficacy of actions to optimize the development of cognitive processes in children who live in adverse conditions due to poverty.