Resting frontal EEG asymmetry in children: Meta‐analyses of the effects of psychosocial risk factors and associations with internalizing and externalizing behavior

Abstract

Asymmetry of frontal cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) activity in children isinfluenced by the social environment and considered a marker of vulnerability to emotional and behavioral problems. To determine the reliability of these associations, we used meta-analysis to test whether variation in resting frontal EEG asymmetry is consistently associated with a) having experienced psychosocial risk (e.g., parental depression or maltreatment) and b) internalizing and externalizing behavior outcomes in children ranging from newborns to adolescents. Three meta-analyses including 38 studies (N = 2,523) and 50 pertinent effect sizes were carried out. The studies included in the analyses reported associations between frontal EEG asymmetry and psychosocial risk (k = 20; predominantly studies with maternal depression as the risk factor) as well as internalizing (k = 20) and externalizing (k = 10) behavior outcomes.Psychosocial risk was significantly associated with greater relative right frontal asymmetry, with an effect size of d = 0.36 (p < .01), the effects being stronger in girls.A non-significant relation was observed between right frontal asymmetry and internalizing symptoms (d = 0.19, p = .08), whereas no association between left frontal asymmetry and externalizing symptoms was observed (d = 0.04, p = .79).Greater relative right frontal asymmetry appears to be a fairly consistent marker of the presence of familial stressors in children but the power of frontal asymmetry to directly predict emotional and behavioral problems is modest.

Frontal brain asymmetry, childhood maltreatment, and low-grade inflammation at midlife

“…Emotion-eliciting conditions or events might be required to reveal these associations. With respect to the developmental origins of this vulnerability, parental depression (especially in mothers) is robustly associated with a right-sided bias in resting frontal EEG activity in the offspring, an effect that has been documented as early as infancy in multiple studies (Field and Diego, 2008; Peltola et al, 2014). It is possible that parent-child interactions during infancy may be shaped by withdrawn/depressed parent behavior and may establish a stable tendency towards avoidance/withdrawal in infants, which in the context of later adverse events like maltreatment or other life events may lead to persistent negative affect or excessive stress reactions.…”

“…Additionally, there is some evidence linking prenatal conditions including maternal depression and substance abuse to newborns’ frontal EEG activity (Field and Diego, 2008). A recent meta-analysis has also begun revealing some of the environmental risk factors associated with right-sided frontal asymmetry in children and adolescents (Peltola et al, 2014). The most robust association in terms of the number of studies supporting it and the consistency of the findings is that with parental depression, especially maternal depression (Peltola et al, 2014).…”

“…A recent meta-analysis has also begun revealing some of the environmental risk factors associated with right-sided frontal asymmetry in children and adolescents (Peltola et al, 2014). The most robust association in terms of the number of studies supporting it and the consistency of the findings is that with parental depression, especially maternal depression (Peltola et al, 2014). The low genetic heritability estimates suggest that some of the pathways from parental psychopathology to offspring’s EEG phenotype might be psychosocial.…”

Infant frontal asymmetry predicts child emotional availability

“…In contrast, relatively higher right frontal activity has been related to negative affect and withdrawal (e.g. Cohen & Shaver, 2004;Davidson & Fox, 1989; for a meta-analysis, see Peltola et al, 2014). Moreover, adults with depression (e.g.…”

ADHD Symptoms in Post-Institutionalized Children Are Partially Mediated by Altered Frontal EEG Asymmetry

“…Recent evidence indicates that FEA in young children predicts autonomic reactivity to emotion-eliciting stimuli and through this route right FEA is associated with internalizing problems and left FEA with externalizing problems (Gatzke-Kopp, Jetha, & Segalowitz, 2012). Although a number of studies have obtained associations between FEA and both internalizing and externalizing problems, particularly when stable measures of FEA are obtained (Smith & Bell, 2010), a recent meta-analysis indicates that overall the associations might be modest (Peltola et al, 2014). Recent examination of FEA in the context of trauma history points toward its potential role as a transdiagnostic marker of pathological adjustment rather than a correlate of one specific type of pathology (Meyer et al, 2015).…”