Age, intelligence, and event-related brain potentials during late childhood: A longitudinal study

The relation between event-related brain activity, age, and intelligence was studied using a visual oddball task presented longitudinally to girls at 9, 10, and 11 years of age. The event-related brain potential (ERP) components showed typical gradual decrements in latency and amplitude with increasing age, but there were also nonlinear changes in event-related brain activity with age. Regression analyses between Raven's intelligence scores and latency of the ERP components showed negative correlations for the late endogenous components at age 9. At ages 10 and 11, the earlier components showed positive correlations while the later components continued to show negative correlations. The amplitude measures showed only positive correlations and these correlations shifted from the exogenous P1 component at age 9 towards the later endogenous components at ages 10 and 11. The present findings suggest a qualitative shift in the relation between event-related brain activity and intelligence between 9 and 10 years of age.