Temporal Course of Interference Control from Early to Late Young Adulthood: An ERP Study.

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the neural dynamics of interference control using event-related potentials (ERPs) to reveal time course of interference control from the beginning to the end of young adulthood. Three groups of participants aged 19-21, 23-27 and 28-44 performed a Stroop task. The results revealed age differences in both accuracy and ERP amplitudes during all aspects of interreference control processing that reflect selective attention (P2), conflict monitoring (N2), conflict evaluation (P3) and interference control (N450). Both younger groups made more errors on incongruent trials compared to participants in their early 30s. The presence of higher P2 and N2 amplitudes, diminished P3 and again higher N450 amplitudes in participants in their early 20s points to a shortage of available resources for top-down control at this age. These results are in accordance with structural and functional studies that show that development of the frontoparietal network, which underlies interference control, continues after adolescence. While brain mechanisms are still developing, the use of accompanying cognitive abilities is still not optimal. The findings that change in neural dynamics and related performance continues into early adulthood challenge current models of cognitive development and call for new directions in developmental theorizing.

Differences in the Efficiency of Cognitive Control across Young Adulthood: An ERP Perspective.

Young adulthood is a period of major life changes when everyday life becomes much more complex compared to adolescence. Such changes require highly efficient cognitive control. Developmental studies show that structural changes in the brain areas that support complex behavior continue into the early 20s. However, despite the fact that at the beginning of young adulthood, important behavioral and brain restructuring still occurs, most studies use broad age ranges for young adults (from 18 to 40 years of age) as a reference point for "adult" behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate age-related differences in the efficiency of cognitive control across young adulthood. In total, 107 individuals participated in this study and were divided into three age groups: 19-21, 23-26, and 28-44. We used a visual word categorization task to assess cognitive efficiency and event-related potentials (ERPs) to track events that take place from the stimulus onset until the actual behavioral response. We found age differences in both performance and amplitudes of the ERP components during the early stages of processing - P2 and N2. Our findings provide important evidence for the continuation of age-related changes in brain dynamics that underlie the efficiency of cognitive control even in the early 20s.

Error processing in young adulthood: Age-related differences in electrophysiology and behavioral performance.

OBJECTIVE: The error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) are electrophysiological components of error processing that develop throughout adolescence and into adulthood. As young people in their early 20s make many important life decisions, the inability to monitor and adapt behavior appropriately may interfere with their personal goals, such as educational or professional achievements. The aim of this study was to investigate age-related differences in error processing across young adulthood. METHOD: Using electroencephalography and the go/no-go task, we examined behavioral (error rates, reaction times, posterror slowing [PES]) and event-related potential (ERN, Pe) indexes of error processing. Ninety-five participants were divided into three age groups: Early 20s (ages 19-21), Mid 20s (ages 23-26), and Early 30s (ages 28-44). RESULTS: At the beginning of the 20s, young adults still make impetuous errors and do not show PES afterward, contrary to young adults in their early 30s. Larger ERN and smaller Pe amplitude in Early 30s suggest that adult-like error processing results in early enhancement of effortful stimulus control mechanism (ERN) and the reduction in later response evaluation process (Pe). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the response strategies, both behavioral and neurocognitive, which would assure stable performance resembling adult levels, may still not be reached in the early 20s. Well-timed interventions could help reduce the impact of these tendencies by introducing strategies that provide more efficient performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Living with a traumatized partner: Dyadic approach to well-being of war-affected married couples.

OBJECTIVE: Personal well-being is a positive state of mind that involves the whole life experience. Croatian War of Independence has certainly been a life-changing experience for many Croatian families, especially those whose members were actively involved. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of anxiety and depression symptoms on personal and partner's well-being in couples with and without traumatic war experiences. METHOD: One hundred and ninety-four participants were included in this study and divided into three groups: war veterans without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their wives (34 dyads), war veterans with PTSD and their wives (33 dyads), and nonveteran couples (30 dyads). All completed Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, Personal Well-Being Index, and reported information about war-related experience and mental health diagnosis. We applied two Actor-Partner Interdependence Models with anxiety and depression as predictors and personal well-being as outcome. RESULTS: Our most interesting finding revealed that war veterans with PTSD and their wives demonstrate specific pattern of interaction: significant partner effect showed that husbands' higher anxiety and depression symptoms reduced wives' personal well-being. We also found significant actor effects, showing that symptoms of depression and anxiety have negative effects on personal well-being. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the personal well-being of wives of war veterans with PTSD is doubly burdened by their own and their husbands' emotional state. In the clinical context, this might mean that special attention should be paid to veterans' wives, even when the husband who is suffering from PTSD is the one who primarily seeks professional help. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Neurodynamic correlates of response inhibition from emerging to mid adulthood.

Response inhibition, a key executive function, continues to develop in early adulthood in parallel with maturational processes of the underlying prefrontal regions known to support it. The current study examined behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of response inhibition during a visual Go/No-Go task in a large sample (N = 120) comprised of participants in their Early 20s (ages 19-21), Mid 20s (ages 23-27), and Early 30s (ages 28-42). The two younger groups had lower accuracy, shorter reaction times, and made more premature responses compared to Early 30s. These impulsive behavioral tendencies were reflected in a delayed N2 latency and reduced P2 and P3 amplitudes for Early 20s compared to Early 30s and were associated with personality traits such as impulsivity in an age-dependent manner. The results suggest that response inhibition may not develop fully before the approximate age of 25, as the refinement of the primarily prefrontal cognitive control network follows a protracted developmental trajectory throughout young adulthood.