Abstract
Visual attention comprises alerting, orienting, and executive-control networks. Although these networks are behaviourally evident in childhood, age differences in the neural processes supporting them remain unclear. Typically developing 12–13-year-old children (n = 77) and 19–33-year-old adults (n = 21) performed the Attention Network Test while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Behavioural performance was assessed using reaction time and accuracy. Neural processing was examined using event-related potentials (N1 and P3 amplitudes and latencies) and induced time–frequency analyses of theta (4–7 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), and beta (13–25 Hz) band activity. Significant alerting, orienting, and executive-control effects were observed in reaction time, with children responding more slowly overall than adults. Children showed longer N1 latencies than adults during the orienting comparison, indicating slower early target-related processing. Alerting cues increased target-related N1 amplitudes similarly in both groups. Adults, but not children, showed smaller P3 amplitudes for incongruent than congruent trials, whereas children showed larger P3 amplitudes overall, suggesting age-related differences in conflict-related processing. Time–frequency analyses showed that alerting modulated theta-, alpha-, and beta-band activity similarly in both groups. Orienting-related theta activity differed between age groups, with children showing higher theta power for spatial- than centre-cue trials. Alpha-band activity also differed between orienting conditions similarly in both groups. These findings indicate that children and adults can show comparable behavioural attentional network effects despite differences in neural processing. The results further suggest that electrophysiological measures of attentional processing show age-related differences beyond late childhood.