1
|
Peykarjou S, Hoehl S, Pauen S. The Development of Global-Level Categorization: Frequency Tagging EEG Responses. Brain Sci 2024; 14:541. [PMID: 38928541 PMCID: PMC11201576 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14060541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Adults and infants form abstract categories of visual objects, but little is known about the development of global categorization. This study aims to characterize the development of very fast global categorization (living and non-living objects) and to determine whether and how low-level stimulus characteristics contribute to this response. Frequency tagging was used to characterize the development of global-level categorization in N = 69 infants (4, 7, 11 months), N = 22 children (5-6 years old), and N = 20 young adults. Images were presented in an oddball paradigm, with a category change at every fifth position (AAAABAAAABA…). Strong and significant high-level categorization was observed in all age groups, with reduced responses for phase-scrambled control sequences (R2 = 0.34-0.73). No differences between the categorization of living and non-living targets were observed. These data demonstrate high-level visual categorization as living and non-living from four months to adulthood, providing converging evidence that humans are highly sensitive to broad categorical information from infancy onward.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Peykarjou
- Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany;
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Charlotte Fresenius University Wiesbaden, 65185 Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Sabina Pauen
- Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany;
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Peykarjou S, Hoehl S, Pauen S. The development of visual categorization based on high-level cues. Child Dev 2024; 95:e122-e138. [PMID: 37787438 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the development of rapid visual object categorization. N = 20 adults (Experiment 1), N = 21 five to six-year-old children (Experiment 2), and N = 140 four-, seven-, and eleven-month-old infants (Experiment 3; all predominantly White, 81 females, data collected in 2013-2020) participated in a fast periodic visual stimulation electroencephalographic task. Similar categorization of animal and furniture stimuli emerged in children and adults, with responses much reduced by phase-scrambling (R2 = .34-.73). Categorization was observed from 4 months, but only at 11 months, high-level cues enhanced performance (R2 = .11). Thus, first signs of rapid categorization were evident from 4 months, but similar categorization patterns as in adults were recorded only from 11 months on.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sabina Pauen
- Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hervé E, Mento G, Desnous B, François C. Challenges and new perspectives of developmental cognitive EEG studies. Neuroimage 2022; 260:119508. [PMID: 35882267 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite shared procedures with adults, electroencephalography (EEG) in early development presents many specificities that need to be considered for good quality data collection. In this paper, we provide an overview of the most representative early cognitive developmental EEG studies focusing on the specificities of this neuroimaging technique in young participants, such as attrition and artifacts. We also summarize the most representative results in developmental EEG research obtained in the time and time-frequency domains and use more advanced signal processing methods. Finally, we briefly introduce three recent standardized pipelines that will help promote replicability and comparability across experiments and ages. While this paper does not claim to be exhaustive, it aims to give a sufficiently large overview of the challenges and solutions available to conduct robust cognitive developmental EEG studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Hervé
- CNRS, LPL, Aix-Marseille University, 5 Avenue Pasteur, Aix-en-Provence 13100, France
| | - Giovanni Mento
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova 35131, Italy; Padua Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova 35131, Italy
| | - Béatrice Desnous
- APHM, Reference Center for Rare Epilepsies, Timone Children Hospital, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille 13005, France; Inserm, INS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Clément François
- CNRS, LPL, Aix-Marseille University, 5 Avenue Pasteur, Aix-en-Provence 13100, France.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Monroy C, Domínguez-Martínez E, Taylor B, Marin OP, Parise E, Reid VM. Understanding the causes and consequences of variability in infant ERP editing practices. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22217. [PMID: 34813094 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The current study examined the effects of variability on infant event-related potential (ERP) data editing methods. A widespread approach for analyzing infant ERPs is through a trial-by-trial editing process. Researchers identify electroencephalogram (EEG) channels containing artifacts and reject trials that are judged to contain excessive noise. This process can be performed manually by experienced researchers, partially automated by specialized software, or completely automated using an artifact-detection algorithm. Here, we compared the editing process from four different editors-three human experts and an automated algorithm-on the final ERP from an existing infant EEG dataset. Findings reveal that agreement between editors was low, for both the numbers of included trials and of interpolated channels. Critically, variability resulted in differences in the final ERP morphology and in the statistical results of the target ERP that each editor obtained. We also analyzed sources of disagreement by estimating the EEG characteristics that each human editor considered for accepting an ERP trial. In sum, our study reveals significant variability in ERP data editing pipelines, which has important consequences for the final ERP results. These findings represent an important step toward developing best practices for ERP editing methods in infancy research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Benjamin Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.,Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackpool, UK
| | - Oscar Portolés Marin
- Department of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Modelling, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Eugenio Parise
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.,Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Vincent M Reid
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.,School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Waikato, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Kocoń J, Maziarz M. Mapping WordNet onto human brain connectome in emotion processing and semantic similarity recognition. Inf Process Manag 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ipm.2021.102530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
6
|
Wu R, Kurum E, Ahmed C, Sain D, Aslin RN. Categorization in infancy based on novelty and co-occurrence. Infant Behav Dev 2020; 62:101510. [PMID: 33291063 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
categories (i.e., groups of objects that do not share perceptual features, such as food) abound in everyday situations. The present looking time study investigated whether infants are able to distinguish between two abstract categories (food and toys), and how this ability may extend beyond perceived information by manipulating object familiarity in several ways. Test trials displayed 1) the exact familiarized objects paired as they were during familiarization, 2) a cross-pairing of these same familiar objects, 3) novel objects in the same category as the familiarized items, or 4) novel objects in a different category. Compared to the most familiar test trial (i.e., Familiar Category, Familiar Objects, Familiar Pairings), infants looked longer to all other test trials. Although there was a linear increase in looking time with increased novelty of the test trials (i.e., Novel Category as the most novel test trial), the looking times did not differ significantly between the Novel Category and Familiar Category, Unfamiliar Objects trials. This study contributes to our understanding of how infants form object categories based on object familiarity, object co-occurrence, and information abstraction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, United States.
| | - Esra Kurum
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Riverside, United States
| | - Claire Ahmed
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, United States
| | - Debaleena Sain
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Riverside, United States
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Bayet L, Zinszer BD, Reilly E, Cataldo JK, Pruitt Z, Cichy RM, Nelson CA, Aslin RN. Temporal dynamics of visual representations in the infant brain. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 45:100860. [PMID: 32932205 PMCID: PMC7498752 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tools from computational neuroscience have facilitated the investigation of the neural correlates of mental representations. However, access to the representational content of neural activations early in life has remained limited. We asked whether patterns of neural activity elicited by complex visual stimuli (animals, human body) could be decoded from EEG data gathered from 12-15-month-old infants and adult controls. We assessed pairwise classification accuracy at each time-point after stimulus onset, for individual infants and adults. Classification accuracies rose above chance in both groups, within 500 ms. In contrast to adults, neural representations in infants were not linearly separable across visual domains. Representations were similar within, but not across, age groups. These findings suggest a developmental reorganization of visual representations between the second year of life and adulthood and provide a promising proof-of-concept for the feasibility of decoding EEG data within-subject to assess how the infant brain dynamically represents visual objects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laurie Bayet
- Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, DC, 20016, USA; Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, Washington, DC, 20016, USA.
| | - Benjamin D Zinszer
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA; Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Emily Reilly
- Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | | | - Zoe Pruitt
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Radoslaw M Cichy
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Graduate School of Education, Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Richard N Aslin
- Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA; Psychological Sciences Department, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA; Yale Child Study Center, School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
The development of categorisation and conceptual thinking in early childhood: methods and limitations. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 33:17. [PMID: 32700155 PMCID: PMC7377002 DOI: 10.1186/s41155-020-00154-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We present a systematic and qualitative review of academic literature on early conceptual development (0–24 months of age), with an emphasis on methodological aspects. The final sample of our review included 281 studies reported in 115 articles. The main aims of the article were four: first, to organise studies into sets according to methodological similarities and differences; second, to elaborate on the methodological procedures that characterise each set; third, to circumscribe the empirical indicators that different sets of studies consider as proof of the existence of concepts in early childhood; last, to identify methodological limitations and to propose possible ways to overcome them. We grouped the studies into five sets: preference and habituation experiments, category extension tasks, object sorting tasks, sequential touching tasks and object examination tasks. In the “Results” section, we review the core features of each set of studies. In the “Discussion” and “Conclusions” sections, we describe, for one thing, the most relevant methodological shortcomings. We end by arguing that a situated, semiotic and pragmatic perspective that emphasises the importance of ecological validity could open up new avenues of research to better understand the development of concepts in early childhood.
Collapse
|
9
|
Audio-visual priming in 7-month-old infants: An ERP study. Infant Behav Dev 2020; 58:101411. [DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
10
|
Eighteen-month-olds integrate verbal cues into their action processing: Evidence from ERPs and mu power. Infant Behav Dev 2020; 58:101414. [PMID: 31986314 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral research has shown that infants use both behavioral cues and verbal cues when processing the goals of others' actions. For instance, 18-month-olds selectively imitate an observed goal-directed action depending on its (in)congruence with a model's previous verbal announcement of a desired action goal. This EEG-study analyzed the electrophysiological underpinnings of these behavioral findings on the two functional levels of conceptual action processing and motor activation. Mid-latency mean negative ERP amplitude and mu-frequency band power were analyzed while 18-month-olds (N = 38) watched videos of an adult who performed one out of two potential actions on a novel object. In a within-subjects design, the action demonstration was preceded by either a congruent or an incongruent verbally announced action goal (e.g., "up" or "down" and upward movement). Overall, ERP negativity did not differ between conditions, but a closer inspection revealed that in two subgroups, about half of the infants showed a broadly distributed increased mid-latency ERP negativity (indicating enhanced conceptual action processing) for either the congruent or the incongruent stimuli, respectively. As expected, mu power at sensorimotor sites was reduced (indicating enhanced motor activation) for congruent relative to incongruent stimuli in the entire sample. Both EEG correlates were related to infants' language skills. Hence, 18-month-olds integrate action-goal-related verbal cues into their processing of others' actions, at the functional levels of both conceptual processing and motor activation. Further, cue integration when inferring others' action goals is related to infants' language proficiency.
Collapse
|
11
|
Issard C, Gervain J. Variability of the hemodynamic response in infants: Influence of experimental design and stimulus complexity. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 33:182-193. [PMID: 29397345 PMCID: PMC6969282 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Revised: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Measuring brain activity in developmental populations remains a major challenge despite great technological advances. Among the numerous available methods, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), an imaging modality that probes the hemodynamic response, is a powerful tool for recording brain activity in a great variety of situations and populations. Neurocognitive studies with infants have often reported inverted hemodynamic responses, i.e. a decrease instead of an increase in regional blood oxygenation, but the exact physiological explanation and cognitive interpretation of this response remain unclear. Here, we first provide an overview of the basic principles of NIRS and its use in cognitive developmental neuroscience. We then review the infant fNIRS literature to show that the hemodynamic response is modulated by experimental design and stimulus complexity, sometimes leading to hemodynamic responses with non-canonical shapes. We also argue that this effect is further modulated by the age of participants, the cortical regions involved, and the developmental stage of the tested cognitive process. We argue that this variability needs to be taken into account when designing and interpreting developmental studies measuring the hemodynamic response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Issard
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, 45 rue des Saints Pères, 75006 Paris, France.
| | - Judit Gervain
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, 45 rue des Saints Pères, 75006 Paris, France; Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS UMR 8242, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, 45 rue des Saints Pères, 75006 Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Vavatzanidis NK, Mürbe D, Friederici AD, Hahne A. Establishing a mental lexicon with cochlear implants: an ERP study with young children. Sci Rep 2018; 8:910. [PMID: 29343736 PMCID: PMC5772553 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18852-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study we explore the implications of acquiring language when relying mainly or exclusively on input from a cochlear implant (CI), a device providing auditory input to otherwise deaf individuals. We focus on the time course of semantic learning in children within the second year of implant use; a period that equals the auditory age of normal hearing children during which vocabulary emerges and extends dramatically. 32 young bilaterally implanted children saw pictures paired with either matching or non-matching auditory words. Their electroencephalographic responses were recorded after 12, 18 and 24 months of implant use, revealing a large dichotomy: Some children failed to show semantic processing throughout their second year of CI use, which fell in line with their poor language outcomes. The majority of children, though, demonstrated semantic processing in form of the so-called N400 effect already after 12 months of implant use, even when their language experience relied exclusively on the implant. This is slightly earlier than observed for normal hearing children of the same auditory age, suggesting that more mature cognitive faculties at the beginning of language acquisition lead to faster semantic learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Niki K Vavatzanidis
- Max Planck Institute for Human and Cognitive Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. .,Saxonian Cochlear Implant Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Dirk Mürbe
- Saxonian Cochlear Implant Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human and Cognitive Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anja Hahne
- Saxonian Cochlear Implant Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Peykarjou S, Wissner J, Pauen S. Categorical ERP repetition effects for human and furniture items in 7-month-old infants. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Julia Wissner
- Department of Psychology; Heidelberg University; Heidelberg Germany
| | - Sabina Pauen
- Department of Psychology; Heidelberg University; Heidelberg Germany
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Nordt M, Hoehl S, Weigelt S. The use of repetition suppression paradigms in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Cortex 2016; 80:61-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
15
|
The development of category specificity in infancy – What can we learn from electrophysiology? Neuropsychologia 2016; 83:114-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2014] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
16
|
Pauen S, Birgit T, Hoehl S, Bechtel S. Show Me the World: Object Categorization and Socially Guided Object Learning in Infancy. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
17
|
Marinović V, Hoehl S, Pauen S. Neural correlates of human–animal distinction: An ERP-study on early categorical differentiation with 4- and 7-month-old infants and adults. Neuropsychologia 2014; 60:60-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2013] [Revised: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/19/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
18
|
Peykarjou S, Pauen S, Hoehl S. How do 9-month-old infants categorize human and ape faces? A rapid repetition ERP study. Psychophysiology 2014; 51:866-78. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2013] [Accepted: 04/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabina Pauen
- Department of Psychology; Heidelberg University; Heidelberg Germany
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Psychology; Heidelberg University; Heidelberg Germany
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Stets M, Burt M, Reid VM. Infants Need More Variety - Increased Data Acquisition with Reduced Participant Attrition in Infant ERP Studies. Front Psychol 2013; 4:117. [PMID: 23515656 PMCID: PMC3600831 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2012] [Accepted: 02/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Infant ERP studies often feature high attrition rates with large numbers of trials excluded from statistical analyses. The number of experimental conditions is conventionally limited to reduce the test-sessions' durations and to ensure that reasonable trial-numbers will be obtained for each condition. Here, we designed an ERP study involving eight conditions originating from three previously published studies and presented them to 18 1-year-olds. We expected to replicate original results at least partly. Additionally, we were interested in the effect this novel method of stimulus presentation would have on infant attention. Due to the requirement for sustained attention, interest may decrease. Alternatively, the stimulus-variability may extend attention, allowing the acquisition of more valid trials. Our main finding was that the variability of the stimulus presentation sustained the infants' attention beyond normal parameters. This is apparent from the markedly increased number of artifact-free trials obtained and from the substantially decreased attrition rates. Results from a gap-/no gap-task were fully replicated whereas others, related to face-processing, were replicated in part. Additionally, effects that were not reported in the original studies were found. This is most probably due to interference in the information processing between these conditions. The results show that presenting infants with varied stimuli extends their attention, allowing the acquisition of at least four times more data than via current infant ERP methods. However, stimuli from separate sub-experiments must be cognitively and perceptually distinct, otherwise contamination between related factors will occur.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Stets
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
20
|
Paulus M, Király I. Early rationality in action perception and production? A theoretical exposition. J Exp Child Psychol 2013; 116:407-14. [PMID: 23506807 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2013.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2013] [Accepted: 01/02/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Within recent years, the question of early rationality in action perception and production has become a topic of great interest in developmental psychology. On the one hand, studies have provided evidence for rational action perception and action imitation even in very young infants. On the other hand, scholars have recently questioned these interpretations and proposed that the ability to rationally evaluate actions is not yet in place in infancy. Others have examined the development of the ability to make rational action choices and have indicated limitations of young children's ability to act rationally. This editorial to the special issue on Early Rationality in Action Perception and Production? introduces the reader to the current debate. It elucidates the underlying theoretical assumptions that drive the debate on whether or not young children's action perception and production is rational. Finally, it summarizes the papers and their contributions to the theoretical debate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Markus Paulus
- Developmental Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University, 80802 Munich, Germany.
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Elsner B, Jeschonek S, Pauen S. Event-related potentials for 7-month-olds' processing of animals and furniture items. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2013; 3:53-60. [PMID: 23245220 PMCID: PMC6987642 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2012.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2010] [Revised: 07/25/2012] [Accepted: 09/07/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERPs) to single visual stimuli were recorded in 7-month-old infants. In a three-stimulus oddball paradigm, infants watched one frequently occurring standard stimulus (either an animal or a furniture item) and two infrequently occurring oddball stimuli, presenting one exemplar from the same and one from the different superordinate category as compared to the standard stimulus. Additionally, visual attributes of the stimuli were controlled to investigate whether infants focus on category membership or on perceptual similarity when processing the stimuli. Infant ERPs indicated encoding of the standard stimulus and discriminating it from the two oddball stimuli by larger Nc peak amplitude and late-slow-wave activity for the infrequent stimuli. Moreover, larger Nc latency and positive-slow-wave activity indicated increased processing for the different-category as compared to the same-category oddball. Thus, 7-month-olds seem to encode single stimuli not only by surface perceptual features, but they also regard information of category membership, leading to facilitated processing of the oddball that belongs to the same domain as the standard stimulus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Elsner
- Department of Developmental and Biological Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Hauptstrasse 47-51, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
22
|
Junge C, Cutler A, Hagoort P. Electrophysiological evidence of early word learning. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:3702-12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2011] [Revised: 10/10/2012] [Accepted: 10/12/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
23
|
Abstract
Researchers from different backgrounds have an increasing interest in investigating infant cognitive development using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. Although EEG measurements are suitable for infants, the method poses several challenges including setting up an infant-friendly, but interference-free lab environment and designing age-appropriate stimuli and paradigms. Certain specifics of infant EEG data have to be considered when deriving event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate cognitive processes in the developing brain. The present article summarizes the practical aspects of conducting ERP research with infants and describes how researchers typically deal with the specific challenges entailed in this work.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Pauen S, Höhl S. Ereigniskorrelierte Potentiale: Ein neuer Zugang zur Erforschung der Objektverarbeitung bei Babys. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE 2011. [DOI: 10.1024/1016-264x/a000037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über neuere EKP-Studien zur einfachen Objektdiskrimination, zur Objektkategorisierung und zum sozialen Objektlernen bei Babys. Als Vorteile der EKP-Messung gegenüber Blickzeitmessungen erweisen sich dabei vor allem die kurze Darbietungszeit von Reizen und die hohe zeitliche Auflösung der Messungen. Als relevante EKP-Komponenten werden die Negative central component (Nc) sowie die Positive Slow Wave (PSW) identifiziert. In Bestätigung und Erweiterung von Erkenntnissen der Verhaltensforschung konnte mit Hilfe von EKP-Studien festgestellt werden, dass Säuglinge bereits bis vor dem 6. Lebensmonat in der Lage sind, vertraute Objekte wiederzuerkennen, Objekte auf unterschiedlichen Abstraktionsebenen zu kategorisieren und soziale Hinweisreize zu nutzen, um zu entscheiden, welche Objekte besonders interessant sind. Ihre Objektverarbeitung geht damit weit über einfache Wahrnehmungs- und Diskriminationsleistungen hinaus.
Collapse
|
25
|
Meyer M, Hunnius S, van Elk M, van Ede F, Bekkering H. Joint action modulates motor system involvement during action observation in 3-year-olds. Exp Brain Res 2011; 211:581-92. [PMID: 21479943 PMCID: PMC3102188 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2658-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2010] [Accepted: 03/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
When we are engaged in a joint action, we need to integrate our partner’s actions with our own actions. Previous research has shown that in adults the involvement of one’s own motor system is enhanced during observation of an action partner as compared to during observation of an individual actor. The aim of this study was to investigate whether similar motor system involvement is present at early stages of joint action development and whether it is related to joint action performance. In an EEG experiment with 3-year-old children, we assessed the children’s brain activity and performance during a joint game with an adult experimenter. We used a simple button-pressing game in which the two players acted in turns. Power in the mu- and beta-frequency bands was compared when children were not actively moving but observing the experimenter’s actions when (1) they were engaged in the joint action game and (2) when they were not engaged. Enhanced motor involvement during action observation as indicated by attenuated sensorimotor mu- and beta-power was found when the 3-year-olds were engaged in the joint action. This enhanced motor activation during action observation was associated with better joint action performance. The findings suggest that already in early childhood the motor system is differentially activated during action observation depending on the involvement in a joint action. This motor system involvement might play an important role for children’s joint action performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Meyer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|