Episodic Future Thinking in Early Childhood: Neural and Behavioral Indices of Memory and Planning

/ABSTRACT Episodic future thinking (EFT) involves sampling past experiences to generate hypothetical future outcomes and is critical for successful planning. The primary goal of this proposed project is to better understand the development and capacity of EFT. In Aim 1, we will quantify the processing capacity of EFT during memory retrieval and planning, defining components of functional EFT, in 3-, and 4-year-olds and examine how capacity changes as a function of age. We will also examine the neural correlates underlying these EFT processes and provide a potential neural index of effort during EFT. EEG and eye tracking data will be collected while children complete a novel episodic future thinking task. In Aim 2, we will examine the developmental stability of early EFT using a longitudinal design. In both Aims, the proposed project will be the first to examine (1) the capacity of memory retrieval and planning during EFT, (2) the structure of EFT longitudinally, (3) the neural signatures of EFT in early childhood. We predict that EFT capacity will increase with development, with larger age-related increases observed for planning than memory retrieval. We also predict that similar neural regions (frontal and temporal) that are active during EFT in adults will be active in children, and that neural activity (i.e., EEG power) will show more mature patterns (similar to adults) as children age and EFT capacity increases. Finally, we predict that EFT will show stable individual differences from 3-4-years of age, but that planning will increase at a steeper rate than memory retrieval. Project Number: 1R15HD118566-01 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) | Principal Investigator: Tashauna Blankenship | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON, BOSTON, MA | Award Amount: $571,311 | Activity Code: R15 | Study Section: Human Complex Mental Function Study Section[HCMF] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/1R15HD11856601