Electrophysiological correlates of automatic visual change detection in school-age children

► Although the change-detection process occurs in all sensory modalities, little is known about automatic visual deviance detection, particularly regarding the development of this brain function throughout childhood. ► This study is the first to examine the maturation of the electrophysiological response to unattended deviant visual stimuli (vMMN) in 11-year-old children. ► Our findings evidence substantial age-related modification of vMMN characteristics. ► The vMMN waveform appeared very different in children and its morphology still has not reached that of adults at age 11 years, suggesting a non-mature visual change-detection process, even at this late period of childhood. Automatic stimulus-change detection is usually investigated in the auditory modality by studying Mismatch Negativity (MMN). Although the change-detection process occurs in all sensory modalities, little is known about visual deviance detection, particularly regarding the development of this brain function throughout childhood. The aim of the present study was to examine the maturation of the electrophysiological response to unattended deviant visual stimuli in 11-year-old children. Twelve children and 12 adults were presented with a passive visual oddball paradigm using dynamic stimuli involving changes in form and motion. Visual Mismatch responses were identified over occipito-parietal sites in both groups but they displayed several differences. In adults the response clearly culminated at around 210ms whereas in children three successive negative deflections were evidenced between 150 and 330ms. Moreover, the main mismatch response in children was characterized by a positive component peaking over occipito-parieto-temporal regions around 450ms after deviant stimulus onset. The findings showed that the organization of the vMMN response is not mature in 11-year-old children and that a longer time is still necessary to process simple visual deviancy at this late stage of child development.