Assaying neural patterns using scalp electroencephalography from children in a naturally engaging unconstrained video game playing experience

Understanding the developing brain in action remains one of the challenges in neuroscience. Developing neural networks are likely to be endowed with functionally important variability across context, age, gender and other, as yet unknown, variables. Thus, it is critical to quantify, describe, and understand the role of naturally occurring neural variability in the developing brain. To examine how neural responses vary across such factors, we assayed neural activity of children at baseline and while they played a videogame at the Children’s Museum of Houston. Brain responses and head motion were acquired using mobile brain-body imaging technology. Age effects on spectral content and sample entropy during baseline were consistent with previous developmental studies conducted in laboratory settings. Unsupervised clustering of spectral brain patterns in baseline and task conditions uncovered ‘common’ and ‘rare’ patterns selective for age and/or skill level or independent of such factors. A temporal cluster characterized by high beta power was observed predominantly in 10 year-olds and younger children, whereas a frontal cluster characterized by high gamma power was associated with skill level. No gender effects on spectral patterns were found. These findings are the first to quantify and describe brain patterns observed during gameplay in freely behaving children.