This article reviews literature on the characteristics and possible interpretations of the event-related potential (ERP) peaks commonly identified in research. The description of each peak includes typical latencies, cortical distributions, and possible brain sources of observed activity as well as the evoking paradigms and underlying psychological processes. The review is intended to serve as a tutorial for general readers interested in neuropsychological research and as a reference source for researchers using ERP techniques.

The efficacy of a peer-mediated, theatre-based intervention on social competence in participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was tested. Thirty 8-to-14 year-olds with ASD were randomly assigned to the treatment (n = 17) or a wait-list control (n = 13) group. Immediately after treatment, group effects were seen on social ability (d = .77), communication symptoms (d = −.86), group play with toys in the company of peers (d = .77), immediate memory for faces as measured by neuropsychological (d = .75) and ERP methods (d = .93), delayed memory for faces (d = .98), and theory of mind (d = .99). At the 2-month follow-up period, group effects were detected on communication symptoms (d = .82). The results of this pilot clinical trial provide initial support for the efficacy of the theatre-based intervention.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to assess whether behavioral and psychophysiological correlates of emotional reactivity and regulation are associated with developmental stuttering, as well as determine the feasibility of these methods in preschool-age children. Nine preschool-age children who stutter (CWS) and nine preschool-age children who do not stutter (CWNS) listened to brief background conversations conveying happy, neutral, and angry emotions (a resolution conversation followed the angry conversation), then produced narratives based on a text-free storybook. Electroencephalograms (EEG) recorded during listening examined cortical correlates of emotional reactivity and regulation. Speech disfluencies and observed emotion regulation were measured during a narrative immediately after each background conversation. Results indicated that decreased use of regulatory strategies is related to more stuttering in children who stutter. However, no significant differences were found in EEG measurements of emotional reactivity and regulation between CWS and CWNS or between emotion elicitation conditions. Findings were taken to suggest that use of regulatory strategies may relate to the fluency of preschool-age children’s speech-language output. Learner Outcomes: The reader will be able to (1) describe emotional reactivity and regulation processes, (2) discuss evidence for or against the relations of emotional reactivity, regulation and stuttering, (3) understand how multiple measures can be used to measure emotional reactivity and regulation.

Summary Every year 15 million preterm infants are born, and most spend their first weeks in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs)[1]. Although essential for the support and survival of these infants, NICU sensory environments are dramatically different from those in which full-term infants mature, and, thus, likely impact the development of functional brain organization[2]. Yet, the integrity of sensory systems determines effective perception and behaviour[3,4]. In neonates, touch is a cornerstone of interpersonal interactions and sensory-cognitive development[5–7]. NICU treatments used to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes rely heavily on touch[8]. Yet, we understand little of how brain maturation at birth (i.e. prematurity) and quality of early-life experiences (e.g. supportive vs. painful touch) interact to shape the development of the somatosensory system[9]. Here, we identified the spatial, temporal and amplitude characteristics of cortical responses to light touch differentiating them from sham stimuli in full-term infants. We then utilized this data-driven analytical framework to show that the degree of prematurity at birth determines the extent to which brain responses to light touch (but not sham) are attenuated at the time of discharge from the hospital. Building on these results, we showed that when controlling for prematurity and analgesics, supportive experiences (e.g. breastfeeding, skin-to-skin care) are associated with stronger brain responses, whereas painful experiences (e.g. skin punctures, tube insertions) are associated with reduced brain responses to the same touch stimuli. Our results shed crucial insights into the mechanisms through which common early perinatal experiences may shape the somatosensory scaffolding of later perceptual, cognitive and social development.