Early childhood is characterized by robust developmental changes in cognitive control. However, our understanding of intra-individual change in neural indices of cognitive control during this period remains limited. Here, we examined developmental changes in event-related potential (ERP) indices of cognitive control from preschool through first grade, in a large and diverse sample of children (N = 257). We recorded ERPs during a visual Go/No-Go task. N2 and P3b mean amplitudes were extracted from the observed waveforms (Go and No-Go) and the difference wave (No-Go minus Go, or ∆). Latent growth curve modeling revealed that while N2 Go and No-Go amplitudes showed no linear change, P3b Go and No-Go amplitudes displayed linear decreases in magnitude (became less positive) over time. ∆N2 amplitude demonstrated a linear increase in magnitude (became more negative) over time whereas ∆P3b amplitude was more positive in kindergarten compared to preschool. Younger age in preschool predicted greater rates of change in ∆N2 amplitude, and higher maternal education predicted larger initial P3b Go and No-Go amplitudes in preschool. Our findings suggest that observed waveforms and difference waves are not interchangeable for indexing neurodevelopment, and the developmental trajectories of different ERP indices of cognitive control are component-specific in early childhood.

幼儿期的特点是认知控制的剧烈发展变化。然而，我们对这一时期认知控制神经指标的个体内部变化的理解仍然有限。在这里，我们在大量不同的儿童样本中（N = 257）检查了从学前班到一年级认知控制的事件相关电位（ERP）指数的发展变化。我们在视觉执行/不执行任务期间记录了 ERP。N2 和 P3b 平均振幅是从观察到的波形（Go 和 No-Go）和差值波（No-Go 减去 Go，或 Δ）中提取的。潜在生长曲线模型显示，虽然 N2 Go 和 No-Go 幅度没有显示线性变化，但 P3b Go 和 No-Go 幅度随着时间的推移显示幅度线性下降（变得不那么正）。随着时间的推移，ΔN2 振幅呈现线性增加（变得更负），而幼儿园的 ΔP3b 振幅比学前班更正。学龄前年龄越小，ΔN2 幅度的变化率越大，而母亲受教育程度越高，学前班的初始 P3b Go 和 No-Go 幅度就越大。我们的研究结果表明，观察到的波形和差异波对于神经发育的索引是不可互换的，并且认知控制的不同 ERP 指数的发育轨迹在幼儿期是特定的。