Qinfen Zhang

Background: Research on age-related changes in early electrophysiological responses to Chinese print across primary-school years is limited. This study examined age-group differences in the N170 response during Chinese character processing in children aged 7–11 years. Methods: A total of 103 children aged 7–11 years completed a semantic priming and pseudocharacter judgment task during electroencephalographic recording. Mean N170 voltage was measured from 130 to 240 ms at P7 and P8, the posterior occipitotemporal electrodes. A linear mixed-effects model was used to examine the effects of age group, stimulus type, and hemisphere, as well as their interactions, with sex and the sex-by-hemisphere interaction included as additional fixed effects. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was used for the sensitivity analysis. Results: Mean voltage in the N170 window differed across age groups [Wald χ²(4) =20.75, P<0.001]. Values were lower in 7-year-olds than in 10- and 11-year-olds (both Holm-adjusted P<0.001). Stimulus type (P=0.082) and hemisphere (P=0.152) were not significant, and neither showed a reliable interaction with age group. The three-way interaction, sex effect, and sex-by-hemisphere interaction were also nonsignificant. The sensitivity analysis yielded comparable results. Conclusions: N170-window mean voltage differed by age group, with the clearest differences between the 7-year-old group and the 10- and 11-year-old groups. No evidence of discrete transition windows or an age-related hemispheric shift was found. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine how these responses develop across childhood.

Flexible action requires recent context to shape the meaning of a current target. We examined whether this process shows an atypical age-related pattern in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD). Target-locked electroencephalography was available from 143 children aged 6 to 11 years, of whom 111 met the trial criterion for the primary four-condition analysis. Time-resolved multivariate analyses separated cue, target, and context-dependent action information. Cue information was present in both DD and typically developing (TD) children and generalized across target categories from 114 to 644 ms (cluster P < 0.001). Target and action representations showed diagnosis-by-age interactions from 224 to 414 ms (cluster P = 0.002) and from 264 to 404 ms (cluster P = 0.004), respectively. Action-representation strength increased with age in TD children, and the directional stability of both target and action representations also increased with age in TD but not DD. The association between action-representation strength and signal-detection sensitivity was stronger in DD than in TD children (diagnosis × action: β = 0.647, SE = 0.152, P < 0.001). These findings suggest attenuated age-related strengthening and stabilization of target- and action-related neural representations in this DD cohort rather than a broad loss of cue information.

Children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) show persistent difficulties in arithmetic, yet the temporal characteristics of neural processing after the presentation of a proposed answer remain insufficiently understood. This study used an answer-locked event-related potential (ERP) design to examine neural dynamics during arithmetic verification in 76 children aged 8–12 years, including 37 children with DD and 39 typically developing (TD) children. Participants completed addition, subtraction, and multiplication verification problems while electroencephalography was recorded. Peak amplitude and peak latency of the N2a, N2b, and P3 components were measured at Fz and Cz. Component-specific analyses were complemented by omnibus models across ERP components and electrodes, and Holm correction was applied to control for multiple comparisons. Children with DD showed substantially lower accuracy and longer reaction times than TD children. After correction, the DD group showed longer N2a peak latencies at Fz and Cz, longer N2b peak latency at Fz, and smaller P3 peak amplitude at Fz. The surviving ERP effects were moderate to large in statistical magnitude, and omnibus analyses further indicated that the pattern of group differences varied across components and electrodes. By time-locking neural activity to proposed-answer onset, these findings delineate a robust pattern of delayed N2 responses and reduced later frontal P3 amplitude in DD, clarifying when group differences emerge during arithmetic verification. These findings characterize group-level differences in answer-related neural processing but do not isolate the contributions of calculation and verification-related demands.

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disorder characterized by persistent difficulty in acquiring and applying numerical and arithmetic skills despite adequate intellectual ability...

Objective Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) includes three subtypes: inattentive type (ADHD-I), hyperactive/impulsive type (ADHD-HI), and combined type (ADHD-C). Diagnosis mainly relies on subjective behavioral rating scales, lacking objective biomarkers. Electroencephalography (EEG) and serum neurotrophic factors—brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and neurotrophin-3 (NTF3)—may aid subtype differentiation. This study evaluates their combined diagnostic value in children with ADHD.Methods A retrospective cohort of 322 children aged 6–12 years diagnosed with ADHD based on DSM-5 criteria was analyzed. EEG recordings were processed using Fast Fourier Transform to extract frequency band powers and P300 wave features. Serum levels of BDNF, NGF, GDNF, and NTF3 were measured via ELISA. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate regression, and ROC curve analyses were performed to assess diagnostic performance.Results ADHD-I patients exhibited elevated frontal θ power, higher θ/β ratios, prolonged P300 latency, and reduced P300 amplitude. ADHD-HI patients demonstrated increased β power in parietal regions and elevated NGF and NTF3 levels. Multivariate analysis identified θ power, θ/β ratio, NGF, NTF3, and P300 amplitude area as independent predictors for subtype differentiation. Combined EEG and serum markers yielded an area under the curve (AUC) (0.90) in distinguishing ADHD-I from ADHD-HI.Conclusion The integration of EEG features and neurotrophic factor profiles offers high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating ADHDI from ADHD-HI and moderate accuracy for the other subtype comparisons. These findings support the development of objective biomarker- based diagnostic tools for precision psychiatry in ADHD.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effects of maternal voice stimulation on cortical activity, physiological stabilization, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in neonates with severe asphyxia. Methods A total of 72 neonates were enrolled and divided into three groups: severe asphyxia with maternal voice intervention (SM, n = 23), severe asphyxia with standard care (SC, n = 19), and normal controls (NC, n = 30). The SM group received 15-minute sessions of structured maternal voice playback three times daily for 10 days. EEG power spectral density (PSD) was analyzed across the 0–8 Hz frequency ranges before and after the intervention. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed at one year using the Gesell Developmental Scale. Physiological parameters, including heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation, were monitored during intervention sessions. Results The SM group showed significant increases in overall PSD within the 0–8 Hz frequency range following the intervention (P < 0.05), achieving levels comparable to the NC group, while no improvement was observed in the SC group. Maternal voice stimulation also stabilized physiological parameters, with significant reductions in heart rate and respiratory rate and improvements in oxygen saturation (P < 0.05). At one year, the SM group demonstrated developmental quotients comparable to the NC group across motor, adaptive, and language domains, whereas the SC group exhibited significant delays (P < 0.05). Conclusion Maternal voice stimulation enhances cortical activity, stabilizes vital signs, and supports neurodevelopmental recovery in neonates with severe asphyxia. This intervention offers a promising, non-invasive approach to improving outcomes for high-risk neonates in neonatal intensive care units.

Background: Late preterm infants (LPIs) are at risk of neurodevelopmental delay. Research on their cognitive development is helpful for early intervention and follow-up. Methods: Event-related potential (ERP) and resting electroencephalography (RS-EEG) were used to study the brain cognitive function of LPIs in the early stage of life. The Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) was used to track the neurodevelopmental status at the age of 1 year after correction, and to explore the neurophysiological indicators that could predict the outcome of cognitive development in the early stage. Results: The results showed that mismatch response (MMR) amplitude, RS-EEG power spectrum and functional connectivity all suggested that LPIs were lagging behind. At the age of 1 year after correction, high-risk LPIs showed no significant delay in gross motor function, but lagged behind in fine motor function, language, personal social interaction and adaptability. The ROC curve was used to evaluate the predictive role of MMR amplitude in the brain cognitive development prognosis at 1 year, showing a sensitivity of 80.00% and a specificity of 90.57%. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.788, with a P-value of 0.007. Conclusions: Based on our findings we supposed that the cognitive function of LPI lags behind that of full-term infants in early life. Preterm birth and perinatal diseases or high risk factors affected brain cognitive function in LPIs. MMR amplitude can be used as an early predictor of brain cognitive development in LPIs. Trial registration: This clinical trial is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR). Trial registration number: ChiCTR2100041929. Date of registration: 2021-01-10. URL of the trial registry record: https://www.chictr.org.cn/.

To explore the characteristics of semantic cognitive development of school children by observing the development changes over 10 years, a retrospective event-related potential (ERP) study was conducted on the semantic processing characteristics of Chinese characters in children aged 7–11 years with the same study design in 2009 and 2019. For the EEGs recorded in 2009, the N400 amplitude of semantic processing in children aged 7–11 years showed an approximately inverted U-shaped development trend with a slow rise at the age of 7–9, a peak at the age of 10, then a rapid decline at the age of 11. However, for the EEGs recorded in 2019, the N400 amplitude showed a gradually decreasing development trend with a slow decline for the 7–11 years class. Our data suggested that the semantic processing of Chinese characters in children aged 7–11 years in 2019 was one age stage earlier than that in 2009. The children’s brain cognition is in the process of development and change with high plasticity. 10 years of favorable social and educational environmental factors have significantly improved children’s semantic processing ability of Chinese characters.