EEG asymmetry, power, and temperament in children

Measures of EEG spectral power, lateral asymmetry in the frontal and parietal areas, and social behavior with an examiner were analyzed on 166 children, 10 to 12 years old, who were participating in a longitudinal study of the temperamental contributions to social behavior. Loss of 8- to 13-Hz power (alpha band) on the right, compared with the left, frontal area (right frontal active) was most prevalent among children who were classified as high reactive at 4 months and were highly fearful at 14 and 21 months. Second, greater frontal power in the 14- to 30-Hz band (beta) at rest was correlated with the tendency to be right frontal active. Finally, spontaneous talkativeness with an unfamiliar examiner was associated with right frontal activation and high alpha power for boys, but with right frontal activation and high beta power for girls. Right frontal activation is most characteristic of children who begin life with a temperamental bias favoring high reactivity and who develop a fearful reaction to unfamiliar events in the second year of life.