Development of Cognitive Shifting from Others’ Behavior in Young Children: A Near-infrared Spectroscopy Study

ABSTRACT

This study examined the neural correlates of cognitive shifting when 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 45) engage in a social Dimensional Change Card Sort, where they sorted cards according to one dimension (execution phase) after observing another person sorting cards according to another dimension (observation phase) using near-infrared spectroscopy. Analyses using ANOVA revealed that older children who successfully performed the task exhibited significant lateral prefrontal activation during both phases, whereas younger children who failed the task exhibited the prefrontal activation only during the execution phases. The lateral prefrontal regions may play a role in cognitive shifting from others’ behaviors.

Acknowledgments

We thank the parents and children who participated in this study.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of Interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI [Grant Numbers JP16H05956 and 18H01083].