ERIC Number: EJ1487304
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Nov
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
Available Date: 2025-09-08
Neural Oscillatory Markers of Voluntary Task Switching: Proactive Engagement of Self-Directed Control in Children and Adults
Nicolas Chevalier1; Aurélien Frick2
Developmental Science, v28 n6 e70073 2025
Cognitive control shows two main developmental trends: greater self-directedness (i.e., children need less external scaffolding) and greater proactiveness (i.e., children increasingly anticipate and prepare for upcoming cognitive demands). The present study examined potential links between these major developmental transitions. Specifically, it used EEG oscillations to investigate the extent to which children, like adults, engage self-directed control in a proactive fashion, and whether age-related changes reflect progress in task selection, motor preparation, or both. Five-6-year-olds, 9-10-year-olds, and adults performed a voluntary task-switching paradigm in which visual support for past actions was manipulated. Both children and adults showed greater frontolateral delta/theta power and lower central mu power on switch than repeat trials, but visual support differentially affected these oscillatory markers across age groups. Children already engage self-directed control proactively from 5 to 6 years of age in the voluntary task-switching paradigm, albeit differently than adults, suggesting close links between self-directed and proactive control developments.
Descriptors: Task Analysis, Children, Adults, Cognitive Processes, Executive Function, Brain Hemisphere Functions, Personal Autonomy
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/7rqdk/?view_only=f256ee64e25240b882b1dde3450e5aeb
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; 2Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK

Peer reviewed
Direct link
