Socioeconomic status and neural processing of a go/no-go task in preschoolers: An assessment of the P3b

Highlights

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  Children aged 4.5–5.5 years completed a go/no-go task while recording EEG.

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  P3b amplitudes were assessed, indexing inhibition and attention processes.

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  Higher household income related to larger P3b amplitudes on go and no-go trials.

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  Results show that SES has implications for children’s neural processing.

Abstract

While it is well established that lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with poorer executive functioning (EF), how SES relates to the neural processing of EF in childhood remains largely unexplored. We examined how household income and parent education related to amplitudes of the P3b, an event-related potential component, during one EF task. We assessed the P3b, indexing inhibition and attention allocation processes, given the importance of these skills for academic success. Children aged 4.5–5.5 years completed a go/no-task, which assesses inhibitory control and attention, while recording EEG. The P3b was assessed for both go trials (indexing sustained attention) and no-go trials (indexing inhibition processes). Higher household income was related to larger P3b amplitudes on both go and no-go trials. This was a highly educated sample, thus results indicate that P3b amplitudes are sensitive to household income even within the context of high parental education. Findings build on the behavioral literature and demonstrate that SES also has implications for the neural mechanisms underlying inhibition and attention processing in early childhood.