Objectives: The present study investigated the influence of the cerebral maturity in the process of cue task-specific preparatory activation induced by an spatial cue using a central cue Posner paradigm. For these purposes, the behavioral responses and the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) generated between the S1 (the warning stimulus) and the S2 (the imperative stimulus) were compared in 16 healthy children (8-13 years old) and 17 healthy young adults (18-23 years old). Methods:The EEG was recorded from 20 scalp sites of the International 10-20 system. The complete trial period included a central directional cue that was on for 300 ms and an attentive waiting period lasting 1360 ms. Finally, a peripheral target subtending a visual angle of 4.56º and situated 2.28º eccentrically in the horizontal meridian appeared. The early and late components of the CNV appearing in the period between the cue and the target were analyzed. Results:The CNV of children did not show contralateral cortical activation related to motor preparation. However, the young adults showed contralateral to the cue activation in motor areas.The children and young adults showed cortical activation in the posterior sensory areas, displaying a contralateral to the cue pattern of activation. In addition to this, a parietal positive component appeared in children during the CNV period. Conclusions:These results might reflect a higher immaturity of the motor preparation system compared with the sensory preparatory system in children. It is possible that children used different strategies than young adults to prepare for stimuli and responses.

No abstract