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

PIETTO, MARCOS LUIS; GIOVANNETTI, FEDERICO; SEGRETIN, MARIA SOLEDAD; KAMIENKOWSKI, JUAN ESTEBAN; LIPINA, SEBASTIAN JAVIER

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

American Psychological Association

Año: 2023

0012-1649

Cognitive interventions that involve EF-demanding activities are effective in changing taskrelated 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 andintegration properties of the functional neural organization during a resting state. Further, theconsideration of the initial cognitive performance in the design of interventions and its role inthe outcome of cognitive training has been poorly studied. The present study aimed toexamine the impact of two individualized cognitive interventions with EF-demandingactivities on brain connectivity in preschoolers (n = 79) from low-SES homes in Argentinausing complex network analysis. At baseline, participants were classified as high- or lowperformers based on their performance in an inhibitory control task, and then they wereassigned into intervention and control groups within each performance level. Before and afterthe intervention, the neural activity of each child was recorded at rest using a mobileelectroencephalogram device. We found significant intervention-related changes in globalefficiency, global strength, and the strength of long-range connections in the theta frequencyband in the intervention low-performing group. These findings support the idea that patternsof processing crucial information in the brain may be modified in children from low-SEShomes through an EF-based intervention. Finally, these findings show different interventionrelated effects on neural activity between children with low and high initial cognitiveperformance and add new evidence about the interaction between individual characteristicsand intervention approaches.