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The Role of Preventive Interventions 445adolescence (Brophy, Taylor, & Hughes, 2002; Kusche, Cook, & Greenberg, 1993;Morgan & Lilenfeld, 2000; Stuss & Benson, 1984). In turn, some aspects of executivedysfunction may interfere with children’s ability to regulate behavior, thussetting the stage for the development of antisocial behavior (Moffitt, 1993). Thus,at a neurological level, mature decision making is a reflection of increasing frontalexecutive control over the limbic activity of the brain.Verbal Ability and the Developmentof Horizontal CommunicationIn addition to greater frontal control, language plays an important role. Researchsuggests hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of particular types of emotionrelatedinformation (de Hann, Nelson, Gunnar, & Tout, 1998). Specifically, theleft hemisphere of the brain is responsible for processing receptive and expressivelanguage, as well as the expression of positive affect. The right hemispherespecializes in processing both the recognition of comfortable and uncomfortableemotions, as well as expression of uncomfortable affect (Bryden & Ley, 1983).Therefore, in order to become aware of and verbally label emotional experiences,it is hypothesized that unconscious information must be transmitted via the corpuscallosum from the right to the left hemisphere. This process is known as “horizontalcommunication.”With the development of horizontal control comes the ability to verbally representemotion and behavior. As children develop throughout early childhood, selfcontrolbecomes increasingly regulated via internal forms of mediation suchas internal verbal representation (Kopp, 1982). Thompson, Giedd, Woods,MacDonald, Evans, and Toga (2000) have found that an increased ability to internallyregulate behavior is accompanied by commensurate growth in the tissueof fiber systems of the corpus callosum known to mediate language function andassociative thinking. In their study, peak growth occurred between 6 and 13 yearsof age and attenuated shortly thereafter, which the authors argue coincides withthe end of a “critical period” for learning language. Interestingly, Giedd et al.(1999) conjecture that because previous studies have found no evidence of postnataldevelopment of callosal axons (Lamantia& Rakic, 1984), the increase incallosal volume may be due to increases in the amount of neural myelination.Because verbal labeling can aid in the accurate perception of emotional experiences,children’s verbal abilities have been hypothesized to play a key role in theirbehavioral development. Specifically, the ability to verbally represent and assessbehavior allows children to analyze the consequences of their behavior for self andother and to gain greater control over their behavior (Dewey, 1933; Luria, 1973).An inability to perform these verbal tasks may preclude children from being able toplan and perform prosocial objectives, leaving them at risk for problem behaviors.In sum, two interrelated aspects of neurocognitive development are clearlyimplicated in the children’s development of social and emotional competence: