University of Oregon, Department of Psychology, OR, USA.
University of Manitoba, Department of Psychology. Winnipeg, Canada.
Dev Psychopathol. 2020 Dec;32(5):1743-1753. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420001212.
The majority of children living in foster care in the United States have a history of maltreatment and/or disrupted caregiving. Maltreatment in early childhood adversely affects development at many levels, including neurobiology and behavior. One neurobiological measure associated with maltreatment is alpha electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. Prior research has found greater right frontal asymmetry among children with a history of maltreatment. However, little research has been extended developmentally downward to examine alpha asymmetry and its behavioral correlates among toddlers in foster care; this was the purpose of the present study. Differences in EEG asymmetry were examined between a sample of foster toddlers (mean age = 3.21 years, n = 38) and a community comparison, low-income sample without a history of foster care (mean age = 3.04 years, n = 16). The toddlers in the foster care group exhibited greater right alpha asymmetry, primarily driven by differences in parietal asymmetry. Neither frontal nor parietal asymmetry were clearly related to internalizing or externalizing behaviors, measured concurrently or at previous time points. These findings reveal differences in alpha EEG asymmetry among toddlers in foster care, and highlight the need to better understand associations between neurobiological and behavioral functioning following early adversity.
大多数生活在美国寄养系统中的儿童都有被虐待和/或照顾中断的经历。儿童早期的虐待会在多个层面上对发展产生不利影响，包括神经生物学和行为。与虐待相关的一种神经生物学测量是 alpha 脑电图（EEG）不对称。先前的研究发现，有虐待史的儿童右额前区的不对称性更大。然而，很少有研究从发展的角度向下扩展，以检查寄养幼儿中的 alpha 不对称及其与行为的相关性；这就是本研究的目的。本研究比较了一组寄养幼儿（平均年龄=3.21 岁，n=38）和一个没有寄养经历的社区对照组（平均年龄=3.04 岁，n=16）的脑电图不对称差异。寄养组的幼儿右额 alpha 不对称性更大，主要是由于顶叶不对称性的差异所致。无论是额叶还是顶叶不对称性，都与同时或之前时间点测量的内化或外化行为没有明显关系。这些发现揭示了寄养幼儿 alpha 脑电图不对称性的差异，并强调需要更好地理解早期逆境后神经生物学和行为功能之间的关联。
