Elevations in EEG Power Spectra During a Go/No-go Task Following Acute Psychosocial Stress in Preschool Children

Abstract

Despite substantial research emphasizing the role of chronic stress on children’s brain function, remarkably little is known about the more immediate effects of acute stress on brain activity. Here, we analyzed changes in power spectra of the electroencephalogram (EEG) during a Go/No-go task collected both before and after a laboratory psychosocial stressor validated for preschool children. Significant increases in EEG power were observed broadly across bandwidths and electrode sites from pre- to post- manipulation measurements. Follow-up comparisons illustrate that pre- to post- increases in EEG power were more pronounced for the Stressor group than the Control group, particularly for the delta (1-3 Hz), high alpha (9-12 Hz) and beta (12-20 Hz) bandwidths. While exploratory, these results are amongst the first pieces of evidence documenting the effects of acute psychosocial stress on brain activity in young children.