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Profiling Maternal Behavior Responses During Whole-Brain Imaging

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Face processing in the infant brain after pandemic lockdown.

Tristan S Yates¹, Cameron T Ellis², Nicholas B Turk-Browne^1,3

¹Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Developmental Psychobiology

|December 26, 2022

Summary

Infant face processing may change due to altered visual experiences. Post-lockdown infants showed different fusiform face area (FFA) responses compared to pre-lockdown infants, suggesting environmental impacts.

Keywords:

experience fMRI face identity face recognition neuroimaging

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science

Background:

The development of face processing in infants is influenced by visual experience.
The fusiform face area (FFA) is crucial for distinguishing facial identities.
Previous research suggests adults exhibit repetition suppression in the FFA for familiar faces.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of altered visual experience during the COVID-19 lockdown on infant face processing.
To compare the neural responses in the fusiform face area (FFA) between infants before and after a local lockdown.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity in 12 infants (9-24 months).
A repetition suppression task involved presenting blocks of faces, with either repeated or novel identities.
Infants were divided into pre-lockdown and post-lockdown groups, matched for age and data quality.

Main Results:

Pre-lockdown infants demonstrated repetition suppression (novel > repeat) in the FFA, typical of adults.
Post-lockdown infants exhibited repetition enhancement (repeat > novel) in the FFA.
Significant differences in FFA responses were observed between the pre- and post-lockdown groups.

Conclusions:

Altered visual experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown may have impacted face processing in the infant brain.
These findings provide preliminary evidence for environmental influences on early face perception development.
Further research is needed to confirm the long-term effects and underlying mechanisms.