EEG Microstate-Functional Connectivity of Observing Animals' Behavior in Healthy Children

Animals can cultivate children's sense of responsibility and empathy, which helps promote their social development. Collecting electroencephalography (EEG) data under natural conditions, like observing animal behavior, provides a practical method for studying the brain's functional system in children's development. This study employed the methods of weighted phase lag index (WPLI) and weighted phase lag index based on microstates time series (MS-WPLI) to construct functional brain networks in children. Compared to the WPLI method, the MS-WPLI method better captures intricate details in children's brain activity observed through EEG in natural venues. The connections between the parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes in children were activated during observing a family animal's behavior. Children's complex cognitive processes were activated by human-animal interaction, which improved the coupling between cognitive networks and the neural oscillations of the higher-order frequency band (gamma). These results enhance our comprehension of how the brains of children demonstrate connectivity patterns in reaction to natural stimuli.