Electrocorticography to Investigate Age-Related Brain Lateralization on Pediatric Motor Inhibition

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Response inhibition is critical for goal-directed behavior, involving the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and its executive control over motor outputs.
• Understanding the pediatric development of response inhibition is essential for identifying typical and atypical developmental trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the pediatric development of response inhibition using subdural electrocorticography (ECoG).
• To investigate age-related changes in neural activity within the IFG and motor cortex during a Go/No-Go task in children.

Main Methods:

• Subdural ECoG recordings were obtained from eight pediatric patients during a child-optimized Go/No-Go task.
• Neural activity, including theta, beta, and high-gamma (HG) power, and phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) in the IFG and motor cortex were analyzed.
• Age-related analyses compared power ratios and PAC values between Go and No-Go conditions.

Main Results:

• High-gamma (HG) power was significantly higher in No-Go trials compared to Go trials in the IFG for all pediatric patients.
• Theta and HG power in the IFG were elevated during No-Go conditions versus Go conditions, particularly on the right side (p < 0.05).
• Age-related lateralization of HG power and PAC from bilateral to right IFG was observed.

Conclusions:

• The study provides direct cortical evidence of the role of the IFG in pediatric response inhibition.
• Neural activity in the IFG, especially HG power, is vital for suppressing inappropriate actions in children.
• Observed age-related lateralization to the right IFG during response inhibition aligns with previous fMRI findings.