| Abstract: | Blocking latency of the EEG (BL) and reaction time (RT) were investigated in 53 normal boys aged 88–207 months. The purpose was to discover whether changes in BL which have been reported to occur during growth in children parallel the well known decrease in RT that accompanies development. EEGs were recorded (1) during an experiment in which the tracings were attenuated by short, high intensity flashes of white light, and, (2) while the subjects performed an auditory reaction task in which they responded to a tone that occurred without warning by closing a switch as quickly as possible. As expected, findings showed an inverse relationship between RT and age of substantial magnitude (r= ?.822). By contrast, no relationship was apparent between BL and age in the group tested. This finding, together with the fact that the correlation between BL and RT was not significantly different from zero, suggested that BL and RT follow different developmental courses and may be measures of essentially independent systems in children 7 years and older. |
