We examined the neural correlates of set-shifting in 5-year-old children and examined whether the ease of switching was affected by varying the number of non-switch trials preceding a switch

Carroll, Daniel J.

Espy, Kimberly A.

Herrington, Megan

Raber, Sari

Wiebe, Sandra A.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory - Faculty and Staff Publications Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory 4-12-2008 Changing the rules at the drop of a hat: An ERP study of preschoolers' set-shifting ability Sandra A. Wiebe University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sandra.wiebe@ualberta.ca Daniel J. Carroll University of Sheffield, d.carroll@sheffield.ac.uk Megan Herrington University of Nebraska Lincoln Sari Raber University of Nebraska Lincoln Kimberly A. Espy University of Nebraska-Lincoln, kespy2@unl.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dcnlfacpub  Part of the Neurosciences Commons Wiebe, Sandra A.; Carroll, Daniel J.; Herrington, Megan; Raber, Sari; and Espy, Kimberly A., "Changing the rules at the drop of a hat: An ERP study of preschoolers' set-shifting ability" (2008). Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory - Faculty and Staff Publications. 41. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dcnlfacpub/41 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory - Faculty and Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. ERP Results¾ERP waveform parameters were examined across the anterior leads(shown below), because previous work with children and adults have identified components at these locations that were related to executive control processes¾Analyses were conducted using SAS proc mixed, specifying an unstructuredcovariance structure for the effect of Condition and an autoregressive covariancestructure for the effect of Lead¾For the N2 (defined as the minimum peak between 150 and 350 msecfrom stimulus onset), there was a significant effect of condition: F(2, 92.8) = 9.51, p < .0005¾The largest N2 was observed for the Switch-3 condition, and differed from both the Non-switch and Switch-1 conditions¾N2 amplitude also varied by Lead (F(20, 361) = 2.65, p < .0005), but there was no significant Condition x Lead interaction¾There were no significant effects for N2 latency¾For the P3 (defined as the maximum peak between 200 and 500 msec), therewas a significant effect of condition: F(2, 86.9) = 8.81, p < .0005)¾The largest P3 was observed for the Switch-1 condition, and differedfrom both the Non-switch and Switch-3 conditions¾P3 amplitude also varied by Lead (F(20, 364) = 3.01, p < .0001), but there was no significant Condition x Lead interaction¾P3 latency varied by Lead only, F(20, 345) = 1.84, p < .02Changing the Rules at the Drop of a Hat: An ERP Study of Preschoolers’ Set-Shifting AbilitySandra A. Wiebe, Ph.D.1, Daniel J. Carroll, Ph.D.2, Megan Herrington1, Sari Raber1, &Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D.1 1. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2. Department of Psychology, University of SheffieldAcknowledgmentsThis work was funded by NIH grants MH 065668 and DA 014661 to Kimberly Andrews Espy, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln UCARE award to Sari Raber, and a Wellcome Trust ‘Value in People’ award to Dan Carroll. We thank Scott McLean for assistance with data collection, and all of the families who participated in this research. Correspondence regarding this poster may be addressed to Sandra Wiebe (swiebe2@unl.edu).Introduction¾Preschool children are increasingly expected to modulate their behavior adaptively in different contexts (e.g., home, school, grocery store)¾The ability to flexibly shift between response modes can be assessed using tasks that require set-shifting, a component of executive control (Miyake et al., 2000)¾Executive control is strongly identified with prefrontal function:¾The PFC is important when ‘top-down’ processing is needed; that is, when behavior must be guided by internal states or intentions. The PFC is critical in situations when the mappings between sensory inputs, thoughts, and actions either are weakly established relative to other existing ones or are rapidly changing (Miller & Cohen, 2001)¾In the present study, a preschool set-shifting behavioral task previously used to examine advances in set-shifting, the Shape School (Espy et al., 2006), was adapted for use with event-related potentials (ERPs), a neuroimaging technique appropriate for use with children (Nelson & Monk, 2001), and notable for its fine-grained temporal sensitivity¾We examined the neural correlates of set-shifting in 5-year-old children, and examined whether the ease of switching was affected by varying the number of non-switch trials preceding a switchConclusions¾Consistent with previous research, requiring children to shift set resulted in decreases in accuracy, and under some circumstances increased response times¾ERP indices of underlying neural processes revealed differences at anterior leads that were related to set-shifting demands¾When children were required to shift set immediately after another switch trial (Switch-1 condition):¾Longer response time¾ERP waveform difference from Non-switch condition not apparent until later in processing (i.e., at P3 component)¾When children were required to shift set after 3 non-switch trials (Switch-3 condition)¾RT equivalent to Non-switch trial (suggesting that these Switch-1 trials are less difficult than Switch-3 trials)¾ERP waveform difference from Non-switch condition apparent earlier in processing (in the N2 component)¾The number of consecutive trials completed utilizing a particular rule appears to result in dynamic changes in the ease of “switching gears”, observed in response time and ERP waveforms but not at the level of performance accuracy¾ERP differences were observed shortly after stimulus onset and therefore likely involve mechanisms engaged early in the process of set-shifting (e.g., recognizing the presence of a cue—the presence or absence of a hat—that signals the necessity of shifting set) rather than mechanisms related to selecting the relevant rule or preparing the correct response¾Interestingly, the topography and timing of effects are similar to differences observed in children performing the Go/No-Go, an executive control task with stronger inhibitory demands (e.g., Lewis et al., 2006; Wiebe et al., 2007)—consistent with recent behavioral findings that preschool executive control draws on a common underlying mechanism (Wiebe, Espy, & Charak, 2008)¾Future work will build on these findings by parametrically varying aspects of the task to further parse the processes involved in preschool set-shifting (e.g., by varying the amount of conflict present in a trial, separating the cue from the response, etc.)MethodThe sample included 19 preschool children (10 girls, 9 boys) who ranged in age from 5.29 to 6.00 years (mean 5.6 years)Children first completed the training phase of the Shape School task (including a color and shape block in counterbalanced order, and a switch block)For trials where the cartoon stimulus was wearing a hat, the correct response was the stimulus shapeFor trials where the stimulus was hatless, the correct response was the colorThen, they were fitted with a 128-channel EGI Hydrocel Geodesic Sensor NetFinally, children completed 132 Shape School test trials where the rule switched unpredictably after 1 or 3 trials, yielding 3 switching conditions (Switch-1, Switch-3, Non-switch)[color: blue]Switch-1[color: blue]Non-switch [shape: circle]Switch-3[color: red]Non-switch[shape: square]Behavioral Performance¾Analyses were conducting using SAS proc mixed, specifying an unstructuredcovariance structure for the effect of Condition¾Accuracy varied by Condition: F(2, 17) = 3.70, p < .05¾However, no conditions differed significantly from each other when Tukey tests were examined¾A planned contrast comparing the Non-switch against the 2 Switch conditions was significant, F(1, 18) = 7.04, p < .02)¾Response time also varied by Condition: F(2, 17) = 11.82, p < .001¾Response time was slowest for the Switch-1 condition, and differed from both the Non-switch and Switch-3 conditionsAccuracy80828486889092949698100Nonswitch Switch-1 Switch-3Percent CorrectSpeed050010001500200025003000Nonswitch Switch-1 Switch-3Response Time (msec)N2 Amplitude-7-6-5-4-3-2-10Nonswitch Switch-1 Switch-3MicrovoltsP3 Amplitude01234567Nonswitch Switch-1 Switch-3Microvolts

Changing the rules at the drop of a hat: An ERP study of preschoolers\u27 set-shifting ability

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 
Laboratory - Faculty and Staff Publications 
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 
Laboratory 
4-12-2008 
Changing the rules at the drop of a hat: An ERP study of 
preschoolers' set-shifting ability 
Sandra A. Wiebe 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sandra.wiebe@ualberta.ca 
Daniel J. Carroll 
University of Sheffield, d.carroll@sheffield.ac.uk 
Megan Herrington 
University of Nebraska Lincoln 
Sari Raber 
University of Nebraska Lincoln 
Kimberly A. Espy 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, kespy2@unl.edu 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dcnlfacpub 
 Part of the Neurosciences Commons 
Wiebe, Sandra A.; Carroll, Daniel J.; Herrington, Megan; Raber, Sari; and Espy, Kimberly A., "Changing the 
rules at the drop of a hat: An ERP study of preschoolers' set-shifting ability" (2008). Developmental 
Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory - Faculty and Staff Publications. 41. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dcnlfacpub/41 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Developmental Cognitive 
Neuroscience Laboratory - Faculty and Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
ERP Results
?ERP waveform parameters were examined across the anterior leads
(shown below), because previous work with children and adults have 
identified components at these locations that were related to executive control 
processes
?Analyses were conducted using SAS proc mixed, specifying an unstructured
covariance structure for the effect of Condition and an autoregressive covariance
structure for the effect of Lead
?For the N2 (defined as the minimum peak between 150 and 350 msec
from stimulus onset), there was a significant effect of condition: F(2, 92.8) = 
9.51, p < .0005
?The largest N2 was observed for the Switch-3 condition, and differed 
from both the Non-switch and Switch-1 conditions
?N2 amplitude also varied by Lead (F(20, 361) = 2.65, p < .0005), but there 
was no significant Condition x Lead interaction
?There were no significant effects for N2 latency
?For the P3 (defined as the maximum peak between 200 and 500 msec), there
was a significant effect of condition: F(2, 86.9) = 8.81, p < .0005)
?The largest P3 was observed for the Switch-1 condition, and differed
from both the Non-switch and Switch-3 conditions
?P3 amplitude also varied by Lead (F(20, 364) = 3.01, p < .0001), but there 
was no significant Condition x Lead interaction
?P3 latency varied by Lead only, F(20, 345) = 1.84, p < .02
Changing the Rules at the Drop of a Hat: 
An ERP Study of Preschoolers’ Set-Shifting Ability
Sandra A. Wiebe, Ph.D.1, Daniel J. Carroll, Ph.D.2, Megan Herrington1, Sari Raber1, &
Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D.1 
1. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2. Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by NIH grants MH 065668 and DA 014661 to 
Kimberly Andrews Espy, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln UCARE 
award to Sari Raber, and a Wellcome Trust ‘Value in People’ award to 
Dan Carroll. We thank Scott McLean for assistance with data collection, 
and all of the families who participated in this research. Correspondence 
regarding this poster may be addressed to Sandra Wiebe 
(swiebe2@unl.edu).
Introduction
?Preschool children are increasingly expected to modulate their behavior 
adaptively in different contexts (e.g., home, school, grocery store)
?The ability to flexibly shift between response modes can be assessed using 
tasks that require set-shifting, a component of executive control (Miyake et 
al., 2000)
?Executive control is strongly identified with prefrontal function:
?The PFC is important when ‘top-down’ processing is needed; that is, 
when behavior must be guided by internal states or intentions. The PFC 
is critical in situations when the mappings between sensory inputs, 
thoughts, and actions either are weakly established relative to other 
existing ones or are rapidly changing (Miller & Cohen, 2001)
?In the present study, a preschool set-shifting behavioral task previously 
used to examine advances in set-shifting, the Shape School (Espy et al., 
2006), was adapted for use with event-related potentials (ERPs), a 
neuroimaging technique appropriate for use with children (Nelson & Monk, 
2001), and notable for its fine-grained temporal sensitivity
?We examined the neural correlates of set-shifting in 5-year-old children, 
and examined whether the ease of switching was affected by varying the 
number of non-switch trials preceding a switch
Conclusions
?Consistent with previous research, requiring children to shift set 
resulted in decreases in accuracy, and under some circumstances 
increased response times
?ERP indices of underlying neural processes revealed differences at 
anterior leads that were related to set-shifting demands
?When children were required to shift set immediately after another 
switch trial (Switch-1 condition):
?Longer response time
?ERP waveform difference from Non-switch condition not apparent 
until later in processing (i.e., at P3 component)
?When children were required to shift set after 3 non-switch trials 
(Switch-3 condition)
?RT equivalent to Non-switch trial (suggesting that these Switch-1 
trials are less difficult than Switch-3 trials)
?ERP waveform difference from Non-switch condition apparent 
earlier in processing (in the N2 component)
?The number of consecutive trials completed utilizing a particular rule 
appears to result in dynamic changes in the ease of “switching gears”, 
observed in response time and ERP waveforms but not at the level of 
performance accuracy
?ERP differences were observed shortly after stimulus onset and 
therefore likely involve mechanisms engaged early in the process of set-
shifting (e.g., recognizing the presence of a cue—the presence or absence 
of a hat—that signals the necessity of shifting set) rather than 
mechanisms related to selecting the relevant rule or preparing the correct 
response
?Interestingly, the topography and timing of effects are similar to 
differences observed in children performing the Go/No-Go, an executive 
control task with stronger inhibitory demands (e.g., Lewis et al., 2006; 
Wiebe et al., 2007)—consistent with recent behavioral findings that 
preschool executive control draws on a common underlying mechanism 
(Wiebe, Espy, & Charak, 2008)
?Future work will build on these findings by parametrically varying 
aspects of the task to further parse the processes involved in preschool 
set-shifting (e.g., by varying the amount of conflict present in a trial, 
separating the cue from the response, etc.)
Method
?The sample included 19 preschool children (10 girls, 9 boys) who ranged 
in age from 5.29 to 6.00 years (mean 5.6 years)
?Children first completed the training phase of the Shape School task 
(including a color and shape block in counterbalanced order, and a switch 
block)
?For trials where the cartoon stimulus was wearing a hat, the correct 
response was the stimulus shape
?For trials where the stimulus was hatless, the correct response was the 
color
?Then, they were fitted with a 128-channel EGI Hydrocel Geodesic Sensor 
Net
?Finally, children completed 132 Shape School test trials where the rule 
switched unpredictably after 1 or 3 trials, yielding 3 switching conditions 
(Switch-1, Switch-3, Non-switch)
[color: blue]
Switch-1
[color: blue]
Non-switch [shape: circle]
Switch-3
[color: red]
Non-switch
[shape: square]
Behavioral Performance
?Analyses were conducting using SAS proc mixed, specifying an unstructured
covariance structure for the effect of Condition
?Accuracy varied by Condition: F(2, 17) = 3.70, p < .05
?However, no conditions differed significantly from each other when 
Tukey tests were examined
?A planned contrast comparing the Non-switch against the 2 Switch 
conditions was significant, F(1, 18) = 7.04, p < .02)
?Response time also varied by Condition: F(2, 17) = 11.82, p < .001
?Response time was slowest for the Switch-1 condition, and differed 
from both the Non-switch and Switch-3 conditions
Accuracy
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Changing the rules at the drop of a hat: An ERP study of preschoolers\u27 set-shifting ability

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