Alpha and theta brain activity in 9-month-old infants during a live referential gaze paradigm
Laura Angelini1, Gabriella Tamburro1,2, Francesca Lionetti1
1Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
Insights
Infants
Area of Science:
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Social Cognition Research
Background:
- Gaze following is crucial for social learning and cognitive development.
- Understanding how infants process social cues is key to early development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate neural oscillations (alpha and theta bands) in 9-month-old infants during social gaze following.
- To compare brain activity in congruent versus incongruent gaze shift conditions using a live interaction paradigm.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a live, face-to-face social interaction paradigm with 9-month-old infants.
- Recorded electroencephalography (EEG) to analyze alpha and theta band oscillations.
- Compared neural responses during congruent and incongruent object-gaze shifts.
Main Results:
- Increased theta power observed during incongruent gaze shifts, suggesting processing of unexpected events.
- Enhanced alpha activity noted during congruent gaze shifts, indicating internally controlled attention.
- Live interaction paradigm yielded different oscillatory patterns compared to non-live setups.
Conclusions:
- Theta and alpha band activity are involved in detecting others' gaze shifts toward objects.
- Infant brain processing of social cues is influenced by the predictability of gaze direction.
- Ecological setups are vital for studying infant social cognition development.
Abstract:
The ability to establish a connection between the direction of the other's gaze and the object that is observed has important implications in the development of social cognition and learning. In this study, we analyzed alpha and theta band oscillations in one group of 9-month-old infants by implementing a face-to-face live paradigm, which presented the infants with a triadic social interaction with a real human being. We compared neural activations in two experimental conditions: Congruent and Incongruent gaze shift following the appearance of an object. In the Incongruent object-gaze shift condition, we observed an increase of the theta power in comparison with the Congruent condition. We also found an enhancement of the alpha activity during the Congruent versus the Incongruent object-gaze condition. These findings confirm the involvement of the theta and alpha band activity in the detection of the gaze of others when it shifts toward a referential target. We consider that the theta band modulation could be associated with the processing of unexpected events. Furthermore, the increase of the alpha band activity during the Congruent object-gaze condition seems to be in agreement with prior findings on the mechanisms of internally controlled attention that emerge before the first year of life. The implementation of a live paradigm elicited a partially different oscillatory pattern in comparison with non-live standard paradigms, supporting the importance of an ecological set-up reproducing real-life conditions to study the development of social cognition.
