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Updated: Jun 24, 2025
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.
Insights
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.
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.
Objective:
We longitudinally investigated whether infant P1 and N2 ERPs recorded in newborns and at 28 months could predict pre-reading skills at 28 months and 4-5 years.
Methods:
We recorded ERPs to a pseudoword in newborns and at 28 months in a sample over-represented by infants with familial dyslexia risk. Using multiple linear regression models, we examined P1 and N2 associations with pre-reading skills at 28 months and 4-5 years.
Results:
Shorter latencies of the newborn P1 predicted faster serial naming at 28 months. Larger amplitudes and shorter latencies of P1 at 28 months predicted better serial naming abilities and auditory working memory across the pre-reading stage. Right-lateralized P1 and N2 were related to poorer pre-reading skills.
Conclusions:
Infant ERPs, particularly P1, providing information about neural speech encoding abilities, are associated with pre-reading skill development.
Significance:
Infant and early childhood neural speech encoding abilities may work as early predictive markers of reading development and impairment. This study may help to plan early interventions targeting phonological processing to prevent or ameliorate learning deficits.
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