Neural selectivity for social interactions in the infant brain

Area of Science:

• Developmental neuroscience
• Infant cognition
• Social perception

Background:

• Social cognition develops in the second year of life.
• Infants demonstrate sophisticated social interaction representation early.
• Neural underpinnings of early social cognition are largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate neural mechanisms of social interaction perception in preverbal infants.
• Identify brain regions involved in processing social cues in early infancy.
• Differentiate neural responses to social interaction versus body motion.

Main Methods:

• Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) used on preverbal infants.
• Analysis of brain activity while viewing interacting vs. non-interacting individuals.
• Comparison of looking times between 6- and 10-month-olds.

Main Results:

• Preverbal infants show increased activity in posterior superior-temporal and temporo-parietal regions when viewing interacting individuals.
• Neural effects were more widespread in 10-month-olds compared to 6-month-olds.
• Brain responses to social interactions were distinct from those to body motion perception.

Conclusions:

• Infants possess early neural sensitivity to social engagement cues.
• This early tuning may facilitate attention to social interactions.
• Supports the role of specific neural regions in early social perception and learning.