THE ROLE OF FRONTAL ACTIVATION IN THE REGULATION AND DYSREGULATION OFSOCIAL-BEHAVIOR DURING THE PRESCHOOL YEARS

We examined whether the interaction of resting frontal electroencephal ogram (EEG) asymmetry and social behavior during peer play was related to the occurrence of maladaptive behavior in preschoolers. Two indepe ndent cohorts of children were observed interacting in same-age and -g ender play quartets at 4 years of age. Each child was also seen indivi dually for a psychophysiology session during which time measures of EE G activity were recorded. We found that highly sociable children who e xhibited greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry were more likely to exhibit externalizing problems than sociable children who exhibite d greater relative left frontal EEG asymmetry. We also found that shy children who exhibited greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry we re more likely to exhibit internalizing problems than shy children who exhibited left frontal EEG asymmetry. These findings suggest that the pattern of frontal EEG asymmetry in combination with social behaviora l style is a significant predictor of maladaptive behavior problems du ring the preschool period.