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Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection

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Brain-Behavior Associations During Interactions Between Caregivers and Infants.

Aimee Theyer¹, Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar¹

¹School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies

|September 4, 2025

Summary

Caregiver brain activity during joint attention predicts infant attention span and visual short-term memory. This study reveals interconnected neural mechanisms supporting early cognitive development.

Keywords:

caregiver‐infant interactions fNIRS temporal cortex visual short‐term memory

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Infant attention is influenced by caregiver behaviors.
Understanding caregiver-infant neural synchrony is crucial for developmental insights.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the link between caregiver and infant brain function during dyadic interactions.
To determine if this neural linkage correlates with infant visual short-term memory.

Main Methods:

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) recorded brain activity in 90 caregivers and 91 infants (mean age 251.3 days) during naturalistic play.
Behavioral coding identified periods of joint and continued attention.
Infant visual short-term memory was assessed using a preferential looking task.

Main Results:

Significant temporo-parietal brain engagement was observed in both caregivers and infants.
Caregiver activation in the left superior temporal gyrus during joint attention was associated with longer durations of joint and continued attention in infants.
This caregiver neural activity also correlated with enhanced infant visual short-term memory.

Conclusions:

Caregiver and infant brain function are interconnected during dyadic interactions.
Specific caregiver neural activity, particularly in the left superior temporal gyrus, plays a role in supporting infant attention and memory development.
Findings illuminate the neural underpinnings of early social-cognitive development.