Group-specific changes in the coherence of EEG activity were observed in children aged 17–43 months (mean age 31 months) who differently evaluated prosocial and antisocial actions performed by puppet characters (groups with high and low values of the moral evaluation index (MEI)). In higher-MEI children, observation of a prosocial action facilitated intrahemispheric interactions in the α-frequency range. In the lower-MEI group, changes in α-rhythm coherence were multidirectional. In the higher-IME group, a situation of decision making on how to distribute a reward between two characters who demonstrated either prosocial or antisocial behavior increased the α-activity coherence between the frontal, central, parietal, and occipital regions in the right hemisphere. In the lower-MEI children, the coherence decreased. No significant modulation of the EEG coherence was observed in the θ-frequency range. As for β activity, significant modulations were found only in children with low MEIs. The findings are discussed in the context of the functionality of brain control systems and the role of intrahemispheric cortical interconnections in the organization of moral behavior. The specifics of θ-, α-, and β-frequency coherence are of importance for understanding the mechanisms whereby moral evaluation develops in young children.

Moral development is necessary for the successful socialization of the individual. The mirror neuron system plays an important role in forming prosocial moral behavior in children, its activity being apparent as changes in the pattern of EEG sensorimotor rhythms. The aim of the present work was to identify the features of EEG reactivity on observation of neutral and pro- and anti-social actions in young children with different levels of moral judgment. The study involved 51 children aged 17–42 months. The extents of moral judgment were assessed using a game technique with presentation of neutral, prosocial, and antisocial situations. On first presentation of the actions of a neutral character, not accompanied by any morally loaded context, the amplitudes of the μ and β rhythms were found to be significantly lower in the group of children with a low level of moral judgement than in children with higher values for this indicator. Observation of a positive social action in children with a high level of moral judgment produced desynchronization of the sensorimotor β rhythm, while synchronization was seen in children with a low level of moral judgment. These differences reached the level of statistical significance in leads Fz and C4. Observation of an antisocial action did not cause significant changes in sensorimotor EEG rhythms in children of the two groups. It is suggested that sensorimotor EEG rhythm reactivity in children is largely related to the level of formation of moral judgment and the ability to identify with the character performing socially significant actions.

Moral development is necessary for individual's successful socialization. Of much importance for the formation of prosocial moral behavior in children is the mirror neuron system whose activity is manifested in changes of the EEG sensorimotor rhythm patterns. The goal of the present work was to reveal the patterns of reactivity in the EEG sensorimotor rhythms in a sample of children grouped according to the level of their moral evaluation development, when they observed neutral, pro- and antisocial actions. The study engaged 51 children aged from 17 to 42 months. To estimate the capacity for moral evaluation in children, we implemented a special game method based on demonstrating neutral, prosocial and antisocial situations. When observing the actions of the neutral character for the first time, without any moral context, the mu and beta rhythm amplitudes were significantly lower in the group of children with the low level of moral evaluation when compared to the children with the high moral evaluation index. The sensorimotor beta rhythm desynchronized in children with the high level of moral evaluation when they observed a positive social action, while in children with the low level of moral evaluation the beta rhythm synchronized. These differences reached statistical significance in Fz and C4 leads. Observation of antisocial action did not produce significant changes in the EEG sensorimotor rhythms in either group of children. We suggest that the reactivity of the EEG sensorimotor rhythms is related to the children's capacity for moral evaluation and their ability to identify themselves with characters who perform socially significant actions.

Use of the sLORETA method in 62 adult subjects with different intelligence levels located sources generating rhythms in the frequency band 8–12 Hz during observation, performance, and imitation of circular movements with a computer mouse by the experimenter. A relationship between the level of intelligence and differences in the spatial patterns of cerebral cortex activation during performance and imitation of movements was seen. More marked and localized activation of neocortical structures was seen in adult subjects with high levels of general intelligence. Differences in the activation of cortical areas in groups with different general intelligence levels were largely mediated by structures in the right hemisphere, which is involved in processes of visuomotor coordination and the discrimination of own from others’ actions. The greater involvement of the precentral, cingulate, and postcentral gyri of the left hemisphere in the process of imitating the experimenter’s movements in the group with high intelligence may point to a higher level of activation of the mirror system of the brain.

Differences in measures of verbal and nonverbal intelligence (Wechsler test, WISC) were analyzed in 98 children of different age groups (younger children of 8–11 years/older children of 12–15 years), along with sensorimotor specifi city on execution of operant movements of a computer mouse (decreases in the amplitude of the EEG μ rhythm in the low-frequency/high-frequency subranges) and the presence of μ-rhythm suppression on observation and auditory perception of analogous movements executed by another person. In the situation of watching movements, the absence of any decrease in the amplitude of the μ rhythm in frontal areas of the cortex (i.e., the absence of “mirror” activation) in children of the older group with a high-frequency μ rhythm was typical for subjects with lower levels of development of nonverbal intelligence. The absence of “mirror” activation in the central areas was seen in children of both age groups with high-frequency μ rhythms and lower levels of nonverbal intelligence, but in the parietal areas in those with higher levels of verbal intelligence. In the situation of auditory perception of movements, less marked mirror activation was seen in children with low-frequency μ rhythms and higher levels of nonverbal intelligence. Thus, the nature of the connection between mirror system reactivity and intelligence levels in schoolchildren depends on age, the frequency characteristics of their μ rhythm, the area of the cortex analyzed, and the experimental situation in which the dynamics of EEG rhythms are recorded.

In contrast to the development of muscle adaptations associated with overstrain, insufficient stretching, overloading, and underloading, use of short-term courses of low-strain motor-cognitive training induces adaptation linked with neural rearrangements, studies of which are of great interest. This direction remains insufficiently studied as indicated, for example, by the fact that motor activity regimes in medical rehabilitation are selected empirically and the difficulty of prognostication and assessment of rehabilitation potential. In these studies, 25 healthy pretrained volunteers applied force to an immobile joystick with the hand to control a label on a screen with the aim of studying the ability to follow instructions and the force characteristics of low-amplitude control movements. A joystick attached to a force platform was used to assess measures of the trajectory of the center of pressure on the support, the vertical force, and the external result (the extent of following the instruction in terms of the mean duration of processing a single result) on performance of a standard task with visual feedback carried out three times with each hand sequentially over four days (short training course). Data were analyzed using standard mathematical methods. A stable level of following instructions was achieved extremely quickly – by the second session. Optimization of vertical pressure force occurred during the second course, while optimization of control in the plane of the support was more difficult. “Optimization” of motor control (for a given observation period) and adaptive processes proceeded nonuniformly for different aspects of control: achievement of optimal productivity, selection of vertical force, and manipulation of force in the plane of the support. The rapid improvements in results obtained from following instructions were presumptively linked with optimization of the strategy. The task of optimizing vertical force on the joystick was more difficult, while the most difficult was control of hand force in the plane of the support, which may be associated with the fact that this was linked with a later stage of training.

Background Prosocial behavior is the key component of social and interpersonal relations. One of the elements of prosociality is helping behavior, which emerges already in early childhood. Researchers have identified several domains of helping behavior: instrumental helping, comforting another person, and sharing resources with others. The development of helping behavior can depend on a number of factors: children’s age, the social situation of development, communication skills, and the ability to understand the feelings and needs of another person. Objective In Study 1, the main goal was to determine the effects of age and cognitive, language, and motor development on instrumental helping skills in early childhood. The goal of Study 2 was to estimate the effects of rearing in an adverse social environment by comparing the capacity for instrumental helping in family-raised and institutionalized children. Design The authors examined toddlers’ (N = 198) ability to initiate spontaneous helping and the factors that may influence it. Cognitive, language, and fine motor skills were measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Child Development, 3rd edition. Children’s instrumental helping behavior was assessed according to the procedure presented by Warneken and Tomasello, with a few modifications. Results Study 1 demonstrated that children’s ability to initiate helping was dependent on their age: the non-helpers were significantly younger than the helpers. Children’s language skills also played a significant role in their helping behavior. The children with higher language skills helped the adult more often and more quickly. Study 2 demonstrated that institutional placement per se was not related to toddlers’ ability to initiate helping. Language ability was associated with helping behavior both in institution- and family-reared toddlers. Conclusion Instrumental helping in early childhood is related to children’s age, language skills, and rearing conditions.

The aim of the considered part of the complex project was to study the electromyographic activity of the flexor and extensor muscles (superficial flexor of the fingers, extensor digitorum, the long extensor of the thumb and short flexor of the thumb of the hand) of both hands in search of signs of muscle adaptation during repeated brief sessions of targeted control with the help of the hand applied force for a short course. The analysis of individual and group characteristics indicates the important role of the configuration, the distribution of activity (interaction) of the studied muscles in the development of adaptation, differences in the activity of muscles of the right and left hands. The differences between the flexor muscles and extensor muscles on both hands were manifested in large values ​​of the maximum EMG amplitudes and a more pronounced shift to a decrease in the indicators from the background in the direction of subsequent target sessions for flexor muscles, with a non-linear nature of the changes

A total of 67 adult subjects took part in studies of the amplitude of the lower (α1) and upper (α2) frequency components of EEG α activity, using individually defined ranges, during execution of circular movements of a computer mouse and during observation of another person carrying out this movement. Topographic specificity was demonstrated for the α2 rhythm, and this rhythm was found to have greater amplitude reactivity than the low-frequency component on execution of movements. The sources of rhythms were identified by low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). Both execution and observation of the execution of movements produced similar activation of a number of structures presumptively belonging to the so-called “mirror” system of the brain (precuneus and cingulate gyrus, for the α1 rhythm; inferior parietal lobe, supramarginal and angular gyri, superior and middle temporal gyri, and insular cortex for the α2 rhythm). A significantly greater number of activated voxels was seen in some structures of the right hemisphere than in the left. In the case of executed movements, this phenomenon could be explained in terms of increased needs for subjects’ visuomotor coordination (holding the computer mouse cursor within a specified area of the screen). On observation of movements executed by others, additional activation of the right hemisphere could be due to the social context of the task being performed, supposing attribution of the observed actions to another person. These data can be evaluated as additional evidence supporting the hypothesis of the functional significance of the mirror system of the brain and its involvement in the process of perceiving the movements of another person. The study results also evidence the potential of using a standard computer mouse as an object for operant movement in studies of the neurophysiological mechanisms of motor activity and observations thereof.

The EEG alpha rhythm (8-12 Hz) sources have been localized by means of the sLORETA method in 62 adult subjects having different IQ levels (average, higher than average and high) when they were observing, executing and imitating circular right hand movements with a computer mouse. Subjects with different IQ levels also differed significantly in their cortex activation patterns when executing and imitating movements. A more pronounced and focused activation of neocortex structures was registered in the high IQ adult subjects. The cortex activation differences were mostly found in the right hemisphere brain regions assumingly associated with the processes of visual-motor coordination and action attribution. A larger involvement of the left hemisphere precentral, girdle and postcentral gyri when executing the task of the real-time imitation of hand movements in the high IQ subjects may be an indicator of a greater activation of their mirror neuron system.

The study of the EEG alpha reactivity patterns in the prefrontal, central, parietal and occipital regions involved 25 healthy male subjects who participated in four training sessions of controlling the power platform with visual feedback. A significant prefrontal alpha rhythm synchronization was found which was not essentially modulated in a series of subsequent trainings. A significant desynchronization of the occipital alpha was registered for the second session which gradually increased up to the fourth session. The sensorimotor alpha rhythm didn’t show regular patterns. The use of the dominant (right) hand resulted in a significant desynchronization of the parietal alpha in the right hemisphere in the third and the fourth training sessions.

The EEG amplitude reactivity of the individually defined upper and low alpha frequency ranges was measured in 67 adults when they performed circular hand movements with a computer mouse and observed similar movements produced by another person. The upper alpha rhythm was topographically more specific and had higher amplitude reactivity under condition of self-paced movements in comparison with the low alpha rhythm. The sources for the alpha subranges were identified by means of the low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography method (sLORETA). Comparable activation patterns for the brain structures associated with the so-called brain “mirror” system (precuneus, cingulate gyrus for the alpha1-rhythm; inferior parietal lobule, supramarginal and angular gyri, upper and middle temporal gyri, insular cortex for alpha2-rhythm) were found for the conditions of performance and observation of movements. During both conditions, there was found a significantly higher number of activated voxels in structures belonging to the right hemisphere relative to the left one. Under the condition of performing self-paced movements, this phenomenon can be the result of heightened demands to the process of visual-motor coordination (keeping the computer mouse cursor within a given screen area). Increased right hemisphere activation having a place when observing movements performed by another person can be interpreted as reflecting the social context of the task given the aspect of attributing observed movements to another person. Such results can be taken in favor of the hypothesis of the mirror neuron system and its involvement into the perception of actions performed by others. The obtained data also testify to the possibility of using a standard computer mouse as an object for instrumental movements when studying neurophysiological mechanisms underlying both movement performance and observation.

We studied the frequency and amplitude properties of the EEG μ rhythm in children ( n = 38) aged 4–14 years under the condition of visual fixation (VF) on a video image of a computer mouse, as well as the parameters of its desynchronization during the tasks involving self-controlled performance, observation, imitation, and auditory recognition of the hand circular movements (SPM, OM, IM, and ARM, respectively) with a computer mouse. We observed age-related increment in the modal frequency of μ rhythm in loci C 3 and C z . During the SPM process, a significant decrease in the amplitude of μ rhythm was found in loci C 3 (26.7%) and C z (10.3%); during the OM, in locus C z only (9.9%). The effects of the μ rhythm desynchronization during both self-paced and observed movements might be an evidence of well-developed neural matching mechanisms that provide the processes of performing and observing similar actions in children aged 4 to 14 years. During the IM, the desynchronization of μ rhythm was significant in loci C 3 (27.4%) and C z (15.3%). We hypothesize that the statistically significant increase (from SPM to IM) in the depression of μ rhythm in locus C z is likely to be an effect of a social gaming context common for the situations when children imitate the movements of adults. The index of desynchronization of μ rhythm under the studied conditions did not depend on the age of children. Possible relations of identified modulations of the μ rhythm to the activity of the mirror neuron system were also discussed.