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Neurodevelopmental Correlates of Theory of Mind in Preschool Children
Author(s) -
Sabbagh Mark A.,
Bowman Lindsay C.,
Evraire Lyndsay E.,
Ito Jennie M. B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01322.x
Subject(s) - theory of mind , psychology , electroencephalography , alpha (finance) , developmental psychology , brain activity and meditation , prefrontal cortex , cognitive psychology , cognition , audiology , neuroscience , psychometrics , medicine , construct validity
Baseline electroencephalogram (EEG) data were collected from twenty‐nine 4‐year‐old children who also completed batteries of representational theory‐of‐mind (RTM) tasks and executive functioning (EF) tasks. Neural sources of children’s EEG alpha (6–9 Hz) were estimated and analyzed to determine whether individual differences in regional EEG alpha activity predicted children’s RTM performance, while statistically controlling for children’s age and EF skills. Results showed that individual differences in EEG alpha activity localized to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) and the right temporal–parietal juncture (rTPJ) were positively associated with children’s RTM performance. These findings suggest that the maturation of dMPFC and rTPJ is a critical constituent of preschoolers’ explicit theory‐of‐mind development.