Neuroadaptive Bayesian optimisation to study individual differences in infants' engagement with social cues
A Gui1, E Throm2, P F da Costa3
1Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Science, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom.
Insights
Infants
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Artificial Intelligence
Background:
- Infant social engagement relies on brain characteristics and social cue exposure.
- Previous studies used group-level analyses, overlooking individual differences in social brain development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how neural signals encode social cues in individual infants using a novel AI-enhanced approach.
- To understand individual differences in infant responses to parental social cues.
- To test hypotheses on specific combinations of emotional expressions and gaze direction engaging infants.
Main Methods:
- Applied a novel Artificial Intelligence-enhanced brain-imaging approach, Neuroadaptive Bayesian Optimisation (NBO), to infant electro-encephalography (EEG).
- Analyzed real-time EEG data from 42 infants (6-9 months old) viewing parent's faces.
- Used a Bayesian Optimisation algorithm to identify the most engaging combination of parental gaze/head direction and emotional expression based on infant brain activation.
Main Results:
- The individualized approach supported that infants' brains are most engaged by negative valence cues (angry faces with direct gaze).
- Infants showing preferential attention to direct gaze exhibited increased positive affectivity and decreased negative affectivity.
- Confirmed heterogeneity in infants' attentional preferences for social cues.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights the potential of Neuroadaptive Bayesian Optimisation (NBO) for studying diverse neurodevelopmental trajectories.
- Individualized analysis of infant brain responses to social cues is crucial for understanding social engagement.
- Infant attention to social cues, particularly negative ones with direct gaze, influences their affective state.
Abstract:
Infants' motivation to engage with the social world depends on the interplay between individual brain's characteristics and previous exposure to social cues such as the parent's smile or eye contact. Different hypotheses about why specific combinations of emotional expressions and gaze direction engage children have been tested with group-level approaches rather than focusing on individual differences in the social brain development. Here, a novel Artificial Intelligence-enhanced brain-imaging approach, Neuroadaptive Bayesian Optimisation (NBO), was applied to infant electro-encephalography (EEG) to understand how selected neural signals encode social cues in individual infants. EEG data from 42 6- to 9-month-old infants looking at images of their parent's face were analysed in real-time and used by a Bayesian Optimisation algorithm to identify which combination of the parent's gaze/head direction and emotional expression produces the strongest brain activation in the child. This individualised approach supported the theory that the infant's brain is maximally engaged by communicative cues with a negative valence (angry faces with direct gaze). Infants attending preferentially to faces with direct gaze had increased positive affectivity and decreased negative affectivity. This work confirmed that infants' attentional preferences for social cues are heterogeneous and shows the NBO's potential to study diversity in neurodevelopmental trajectories.
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