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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2025

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Infant neural speech encoding is associated with pre-reading skill development.

Sergio Navarrete-Arroyo¹, Paula Virtala¹, Marja Laasonen²

¹Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.

Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology

|June 9, 2024

Summary

Infant brain responses, specifically P1 event-related potentials (ERPs), recorded at birth and 28 months, predict later pre-reading skills. These neural markers may help identify children at risk for reading difficulties.

Keywords:

Event-related potentials Language development N2 Neural speech encoding P1

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Published on: April 19, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Speech and Language Sciences

Background:

Early identification of reading impairments is crucial for timely intervention.
Neural markers in infancy may offer predictive insights into reading development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if infant P1 and N2 event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded at birth and 28 months predict pre-reading skills.
To examine the association between neural speech encoding abilities and later reading development.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal recording of ERPs (P1 and N2) to pseudowords in newborns and at 28 months.
Analysis using multiple linear regression models to correlate ERPs with pre-reading skills at 28 months and 4-5 years.

Main Results:

Shorter newborn P1 latency predicted faster serial naming at 28 months.
At 28 months, P1 amplitude and latency predicted serial naming and auditory working memory.
Right-lateralized P1 and N2 were associated with poorer pre-reading skills.

Conclusions:

Infant ERPs, particularly P1, reflect neural speech encoding and are linked to pre-reading skill development.
Early neural speech encoding abilities may serve as predictive markers for reading development and impairment.
Findings support early interventions targeting phonological processing to prevent learning deficits.