Neural correlates of visual recognition in 3-month-old infants: the role of experience

Early experiences contribute powerfully to the development of neural systems that underlie various perceptual and cognitive abilities in humans. In one of the first studies to systematically control infants' exposure to a familiar object, we examined the effects of controlled experience on the neural correlates of visual recognition in two groups of infants. One group received 1 month of in-home familiarization to a 3D model of a female face. Another group received 1.5 min of in-lab familiarization to the 3D model of a female face, creating two conditions that differed in the amount and, importantly, the context of exposure to a familiar stimulus. Following familiarization, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at 3 months of age while infants viewed pictures of the familiar face and an unfamiliar face. Results demonstrated that while both groups of infants discriminated between the familiar and unfamiliar faces, the pattern of neural processing was reversed for the two groups. Thus, the amount and context of visual exposure altered the neural correlates of recognition processes in young infants.