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Updated: Jun 21, 2025
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Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
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Association between caregiver and infant visual neurocognition
Aimee Theyer1, Christina Davidson1, Ghada Amaireh1
1School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD Nottingham, England, UK.
Infant Behavior & Development
|July 10, 2024
Summary
Caregiver and infant visual cognition are linked, with similar brain activity observed in both groups. This study shows a neurocognitive association between caregivers and infants in their first year of life.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Human Genetics
Background:
- Caregiver attention influences infant visual cognition through interactions.
- Objective measurement of visual cognition in both infants and caregivers is needed to confirm associations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if caregiver visual cognition is associated with infant visual cognition using comparable tasks.
- To explore the neurobiological underpinnings of this association.
Main Methods:
- Infants and caregivers completed age-specific preferential looking visual cognition tasks with varying cognitive load.
- Looking dynamics were recorded via video, and brain function was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Main Results:
- Both infants and caregivers exhibited a load-dependent 'change preference' (CP) score, peaking at low load.
- Higher caregiver CP scores correlated with higher infant CP scores at low load.
- Shared activation in fronto-parietal networks and parietal regions was observed, with caregiver CP scores linked to specific brain regions in infants.
Conclusions:
- This study provides the first evidence of a visual neurocognitive association between caregivers and infants in the first year of life.
- Findings suggest a potential heritability-related component in visual cognitive development.
- The results highlight the importance of caregiver influence on infant visual cognition and brain development.
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