Developmental changes in infant brain activity during naturalistic social experiences
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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

A Within-subjects Experimental Protocol to Assess the Effects of Social Input on Infant EEG
Published on: May 3, 2017
Emily J H Jones1, Kaitlin Venema2, Rachel Lowy3
1Center for Brain & Cognitive Development School of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom, WC1E 7HX. e.jones@bbk.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Between 6 and 12 months, typically developing infants undergo a socio-cognitive "revolution." The Interactive Specialization (IS) theory of brain development predicts that these behavioral changes will be underpinned by developmental increases in the power and topographic extent of socially selective cortical responses. To test this hypothesis, we used EEG to examine developmental changes in cortical selectivity for ecologically valid dynamic social versus non-social stimuli in a large cohort of 6- and 12-month-old infants. Consistent with the Interactive Specialization model, results showed that differences in EEG Θ activity between social and non-social stimuli became more pronounced and widespread with age. Differences in EEG activity were most clearly elicited by a live naturalistic interaction, suggesting that measuring brain activity in ecologically valid contexts is central to mapping social brain development in infancy.
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