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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Electrophysiological responses to auditory novelty in temperamentally different 9-month-old infants
Peter J Marshall1, Bethany C Reeb, Nathan A Fox
1Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. peter.marshall@temple.edu
Insights
Infants with high negative temperamental reactivity showed distinct brain responses to novel sounds compared to positive or control infants. This suggests different novelty processing based on early temperament.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
Background:
- Early temperament, specifically behavioral reactivity to novel stimuli, predicts later approach/withdrawal tendencies.
- Understanding the neural basis of this reactivity is crucial for early development research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural signatures of reactivity to novel auditory stimuli in 9-month-old infants.
- To correlate these neural responses with prior temperamental reactivity assessed at 4 months of age.
Main Methods:
- Categorized infants into high negatively reactive, high positively reactive, and control groups based on 4-month behavioral reactivity scores.
- Administered a three-stimulus auditory oddball task at 9 months, including standard tones, deviant tones, and complex novel sounds.
- Analyzed event-related potential (ERP) responses to different auditory stimuli.
Main Results:
- High negatively reactive infants exhibited an increased amplitude of a positive slow wave to deviant tones versus standard tones.
- High positively reactive infants demonstrated a larger novelty P3 (P300) response to complex novel sounds.
- Control infants showed intermediate responses, differing from both high reactive groups.
Conclusions:
- Infants' temperamental reactivity influences their neural processing of auditory novelty.
- Optimal novelty exposure may differ for infants with varying temperaments.
- Neural signatures of novelty processing are observable by 9 months and linked to early temperament.
Abstract:
Behavioral reactivity to novel stimuli in the first half-year of life has been identified as a key aspect of early temperament and a significant precursor of approach and withdrawal tendencies to novelty in later infancy and early childhood. The current study examines the neural signatures of reactivity to novel auditory stimuli in 9-month-old infants in relation to prior temperamental reactivity. On the basis of the assessment of behavioral reactivity scores at 4 months of age, infants were classified into groups of high negatively reactive and high positively reactive infants. Along with an unselected control group, these groups of temperamentally different infants were given a three-stimulus auditory oddball task at 9 months of age which employed frequent standard and infrequent deviant tones as well as a set of complex novel sounds. In comparison to high positively reactive and control infants, high negatively reactive infants displayed increased amplitude of a positive slow wave in the ERP response to deviant tones compared to standard tones. In contrast, high positively reactive infants showed a larger novelty P3 to the complex novel sounds. Results are discussed in terms of optimal levels of novelty for temperamentally different infants.
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