Turoman, NoraNoraTuromanTivadar, Ruxandra-IolandaRuxandra-IolandaTivadarRetsa, ChrysaChrysaRetsaMaillard, Anne M.Anne M.MaillardScerif, GaiaGaiaScerifMatusz, Pawel J.Pawel J.Matusz2025-01-082025-01-082021-04https://boris-portal.unibe.ch/handle/20.500.12422/201503Outside the laboratory, people need to pay attention to relevant objects that are typically multisensory, but it remains poorly understood how the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms develop. We investigated when adult-like mechanisms controlling one’s attentional selection of visual and multisensory objects emerge across childhood. Five-, 7-, and 9-year-olds were compared with adults in their performance on a computer game-like multisensory spatial cueing task, while 129-channel EEG was simultaneously recorded. Markers of attentional control were behavioural spatial cueing effects and the N2pc ERP component (analysed traditionally and using a multivariate electrical neuroimaging framework). In behaviour, adult-like visual attentional control was present from age 7 onwards, whereas multisensory control was absent in all children groups. In EEG, multivariate analyses of the activity over the N2pc time-window revealed stable brain activity patterns in children. Adult-like visual-attentional control EEG patterns were present age 7 onwards, while multisensory control activity patterns were found in 9-year-olds (albeit behavioural measures showed no effects). By combining rigorous yet naturalistic paradigms with multivariate signal analyses, we demonstrated that visual attentional control seems to reach an adult-like state at ∼7 years, before adult-like multisensory control, emerging at ∼9 years. These results enrich our understanding of how attention in naturalistic settings develops.en000 - Computer science, knowledge & systems500 - Science::510 - Mathematicsarticle10.48350/1552893356169110.1016/j.dcn.2021.100930