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Vitali H, Campus C, De Giorgis V, Signorini S, Morelli F, Fasce M, Gori M. Sensorimotor Oscillations in Human Infants during an Innate Rhythmic Movement. Brain Sci 2024; 14:402. [PMID: 38672051 PMCID: PMC11047852 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The relationship between cerebral rhythms and early sensorimotor development is not clear. In recent decades, evidence revealed a rhythmic modulation involving sensorimotor processing. A widely corroborated functional role of oscillatory activity is to coordinate the information flow across sensorimotor networks. Their activity is coordinated by event-related synchronisation and desynchronisation in different sensorimotor rhythms, which indicate parallel processes may be occurring in the neuronal network during movement. To date, the dynamics of these brain oscillations and early sensorimotor development are unexplored. Our study investigates the relationship between the cerebral rhythms using EEG and a typical rhythmic movement of infants, the non-nutritive sucking (NNS) behaviour. NNS is an endogenous behaviour that originates from the suck central pattern generator in the brainstem. We find, in 17 infants, that sucking frequency correlates with beta synchronisation within the sensorimotor area in two phases: one strongly anticipating (~3 s) and the other encompassing the start of the motion. These findings suggest that a beta synchronisation of the sensorimotor cortex may influence the sensorimotor dynamics of NNS activity. Our results reveal the importance of rapid brain oscillations in infants and the role of beta synchronisation and their possible role in the communication between cortical and deep generators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene Vitali
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16152 Genoa, Italy; (H.V.)
- Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), University of Genova, 16145 Genoa, Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16152 Genoa, Italy; (H.V.)
| | - Valentina De Giorgis
- Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (V.D.G.)
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Sabrina Signorini
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy (F.M.)
| | - Federica Morelli
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy (F.M.)
| | - Marco Fasce
- Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (V.D.G.)
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16152 Genoa, Italy; (H.V.)
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2
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Swider-Cios E, Turk E, Levy J, Beeghly M, Vroomen J, van den Heuvel MI. The association of maternal-infant interactive behavior, dyadic frontal alpha asymmetry, and maternal anxiety in a smartphone-adapted still face paradigm. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 66:101352. [PMID: 38310719 PMCID: PMC10847859 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101352] [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: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Mother-infant interactions form a strong basis for emotion regulation development in infants. These interactions can be affected by various factors, including maternal postnatal anxiety. Electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning allows for simultaneous assessment of mother-infant brain-to-behavior association during stressful events, such as the still-face paradigm (SFP). This study aimed at investigating dyadic interactive behavior and brain-to-behavior association across SFP and identifying neural correlates of mother-infant interactions in the context of maternal postnatal anxiety. We measured frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), a physiological correlate of emotion regulation and a potential marker of risk for psychopathology. To emulate real-life interactions, EEG and behavioral data were collected from 38 mother-infant dyads during a smartphone-adapted dual-SFP. Although the behavioral data showed a clear still-face effect for the smartphone-adapted SFP, this was not reflected in the infant or maternal FAA. Brain-to-behavior data showed higher infant negative affect being associated with more infant leftward FAA during the still-face episodes. Finally, mothers with higher postnatal anxiety showed more right FAA during the first still-face episode, suggesting negative affectivity and a need to withdraw from the situation. Our results form a baseline for further research assessing the effects of maternal postnatal anxiety on infants' FAA and dyadic interactive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Swider-Cios
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Elise Turk
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, the Netherlands; Department of Neonatology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Department of Criminology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002 Israel; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Rakentajanaukio 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Marjorie Beeghly
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward Ave, Detroit, USA
| | - Jean Vroomen
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Marion I van den Heuvel
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, the Netherlands.
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3
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Wilkinson CL, Yankowitz L, Chao JY, Gutiérrez R, Rhoades JL, Shinnar S, Purdon PL, Nelson CA. Developmental trajectories of EEG aperiodic and periodic components: Implications for understanding thalamocortical development during infancy. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.21.550114. [PMID: 37546863 PMCID: PMC10401947 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.21.550114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
The development of neural circuits has long-lasting effects on brain function, yet our understanding of early circuit development in humans remains limited. Here, periodic EEG power features and aperiodic components were examined from longitudinal EEGs collected from 592 healthy 2-44 month-old infants, revealing age-dependent nonlinear changes suggestive of distinct milestones in early brain maturation. Consistent with the transient developmental progression of thalamocortical circuitry, we observe the presence and then absence of periodic alpha and high beta peaks across the three-year period, as well as the emergence of a low beta peak (12-20Hz) after six months of age. We present preliminary evidence that the emergence of the low beta peak is associated with higher thalamocortical-dependent, anesthesia-induced alpha coherence. Together, these findings suggest that early age-dependent changes in alpha and beta periodic peaks may reflect the state of thalamocortical network development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol L Wilkinson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lisa Yankowitz
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jerry Y Chao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Rodrigo Gutiérrez
- Departamento de Anestesia y Medicina Perioperatoria, Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jeff L Rhoades
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Division of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Shlomo Shinnar
- The Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Patrick L Purdon
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, United States
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4
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Bánki A, Köster M, Cichy RM, Hoehl S. Communicative signals during joint attention promote neural processes of infants and caregivers. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 65:101321. [PMID: 38061133 PMCID: PMC10754706 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Communicative signals such as eye contact increase infants' brain activation to visual stimuli and promote joint attention. Our study assessed whether communicative signals during joint attention enhance infant-caregiver dyads' neural responses to objects, and their neural synchrony. To track mutual attention processes, we applied rhythmic visual stimulation (RVS), presenting images of objects to 12-month-old infants and their mothers (n = 37 dyads), while we recorded dyads' brain activity (i.e., steady-state visual evoked potentials, SSVEPs) with electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning. Within dyads, mothers either communicatively showed the images to their infant or watched the images without communicative engagement. Communicative cues increased infants' and mothers' SSVEPs at central-occipital-parietal, and central electrode sites, respectively. Infants showed significantly more gaze behaviour to images during communicative engagement. Dyadic neural synchrony (SSVEP amplitude envelope correlations, AECs) was not modulated by communicative cues. Taken together, maternal communicative cues in joint attention increase infants' neural responses to objects, and shape mothers' own attention processes. We show that communicative cues enhance cortical visual processing, thus play an essential role in social learning. Future studies need to elucidate the effect of communicative cues on neural synchrony during joint attention. Finally, our study introduces RVS to study infant-caregiver neural dynamics in social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Bánki
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Moritz Köster
- University of Regensburg, Institute for Psychology, Regensburg, Germany; Freie Universität Berlin, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Stefanie Hoehl
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Vienna, Austria
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Rayson H, Szul MJ, El-Khoueiry P, Debnath R, Gautier-Martins M, Ferrari PF, Fox N, Bonaiuto JJ. Bursting with Potential: How Sensorimotor Beta Bursts Develop from Infancy to Adulthood. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8487-8503. [PMID: 37833066 PMCID: PMC10711718 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0886-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Beta activity is thought to play a critical role in sensorimotor processes. However, little is known about how activity in this frequency band develops. Here, we investigated the developmental trajectory of sensorimotor beta activity from infancy to adulthood. We recorded EEG from 9-month-old, 12-month-old, and adult humans (male and female) while they observed and executed grasping movements. We analyzed "beta burst" activity using a novel method that combines time-frequency decomposition and principal component analysis. We then examined the changes in burst rate and waveform motifs along the selected principal components. Our results reveal systematic changes in beta activity during action execution across development. We found a decrease in beta burst rate during movement execution in all age groups, with the greatest decrease observed in adults. Additionally, we identified three principal components that defined waveform motifs that systematically changed throughout the trial. We found that bursts with waveform shapes closer to the median waveform were not rate-modulated, whereas those with waveform shapes further from the median were differentially rate-modulated. Interestingly, the decrease in the rate of certain burst motifs occurred earlier during movement and was more lateralized in adults than in infants, suggesting that the rate modulation of specific types of beta bursts becomes increasingly refined with age.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We demonstrate that, like in adults, sensorimotor beta activity in infants during reaching and grasping movements occurs in bursts, not oscillations like thought traditionally. Furthermore, different beta waveform shapes were differentially modulated with age, including more lateralization in adults. Aberrant beta activity characterizes various developmental disorders and motor difficulties linked to early brain injury, so looking at burst waveform shape could provide more sensitivity for early identification and treatment of affected individuals before any behavioral symptoms emerge. More generally, comparison of beta burst activity in typical versus atypical motor development will also be instrumental in teasing apart the mechanistic functional roles of different types of beta bursts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Rayson
- Institut des Sciences, Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, 69500, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, 69100, France
- Inovarion, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Maciej J Szul
- Institut des Sciences, Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, 69500, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, 69100, France
| | - Perla El-Khoueiry
- Institut des Sciences, Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, 69500, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, 69100, France
| | - Ranjan Debnath
- Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, 35394, Germany
| | - Marine Gautier-Martins
- Institut des Sciences, Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, 69500, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, 69100, France
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences, Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, 69500, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, 69100, France
| | - Nathan Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - James J Bonaiuto
- Institut des Sciences, Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, 69500, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, 69100, France
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6
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Phillips E, Goupil L, Whitehorn M, Bruce-Gardyne E, Csolsim F, Marriott-Haresign I, Wass S. Proactive or reactive? Neural oscillatory insight into the leader-follower dynamics of early infant-caregiver interaction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2122481120. [PMID: 37014853 PMCID: PMC10104541 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2122481120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
We know that infants' ability to coordinate attention with others toward the end of the first year is fundamental to language acquisition and social cognition. Yet, we understand little about the neural and cognitive mechanisms driving infant attention in shared interaction: do infants play a proactive role in creating episodes of joint attention? Recording electroencephalography (EEG) from 12-mo-old infants while they engaged in table-top play with their caregiver, we examined the communicative behaviors and neural activity preceding and following infant- vs. adult-led joint attention. Infant-led episodes of joint attention appeared largely reactive: they were not associated with increased theta power, a neural marker of endogenously driven attention, and infants did not increase their ostensive signals before the initiation. Infants were, however, sensitive to whether their initiations were responded to. When caregivers joined their attentional focus, infants showed increased alpha suppression, a pattern of neural activity associated with predictive processing. Our results suggest that at 10 to 12 mo, infants are not routinely proactive in creating joint attention episodes yet. They do, however, anticipate behavioral contingency, a potentially foundational mechanism for the emergence of intentional communication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise Goupil
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000Grenoble, France
| | - Megan Whitehorn
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UKE15 4LZ
| | | | | | | | - Sam V. Wass
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UKE15 4LZ
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7
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Marriott Haresign I, Phillips EAM, Whitehorn M, Lamagna F, Eliano M, Goupil L, Jones EJH, Wass SV. Gaze onsets during naturalistic infant-caregiver interaction associate with 'sender' but not 'receiver' neural responses, and do not lead to changes in inter-brain synchrony. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3555. [PMID: 36864074 PMCID: PMC9981599 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28988-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal coordination during infant-caregiver social interaction is thought to be crucial for supporting early language acquisition and cognitive development. Despite a growing prevalence of theories suggesting that increased inter-brain synchrony associates with many key aspects of social interactions such as mutual gaze, little is known about how this arises during development. Here, we investigated the role of mutual gaze onsets as a potential driver of inter-brain synchrony. We extracted dual EEG activity around naturally occurring gaze onsets during infant-caregiver social interactions in N = 55 dyads (mean age 12 months). We differentiated between two types of gaze onset, depending on each partners' role. 'Sender' gaze onsets were defined at a time when either the adult or the infant made a gaze shift towards their partner at a time when their partner was either already looking at them (mutual) or not looking at them (non-mutual). 'Receiver' gaze onsets were defined at a time when their partner made a gaze shift towards them at a time when either the adult or the infant was already looking at their partner (mutual) or not (non-mutual). Contrary to our hypothesis we found that, during a naturalistic interaction, both mutual and non-mutual gaze onsets were associated with changes in the sender, but not the receiver's brain activity and were not associated with increases in inter-brain synchrony above baseline. Further, we found that mutual, compared to non-mutual gaze onsets were not associated with increased inter brain synchrony. Overall, our results suggest that the effects of mutual gaze are strongest at the intra-brain level, in the 'sender' but not the 'receiver' of the mutual gaze.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - E A M Phillips
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, E15 4LZ, UK
| | - M Whitehorn
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, E15 4LZ, UK
| | - F Lamagna
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, E15 4LZ, UK
| | - M Eliano
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, E15 4LZ, UK
| | - L Goupil
- LPNC/CNRS, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - E J H Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK
| | - S V Wass
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, E15 4LZ, UK
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8
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Turk E, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Feldman R, van den Heuvel MI, Levy J. Brains in Sync: Practical Guideline for Parent-Infant EEG During Natural Interaction. Front Psychol 2022; 13:833112. [PMID: 35572249 PMCID: PMC9093685 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.833112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Parent-infant EEG is a novel hyperscanning paradigm to measure social interaction simultaneously in the brains of parents and infants. The number of studies using parent-infant dual-EEG as a theoretical framework to measure brain-to-brain synchrony during interaction is rapidly growing, while the methodology for measuring synchrony is not yet uniform. While adult dual-EEG methodology is quickly improving, open databases, tutorials, and methodological validations for dual-EEG with infants are largely missing. In this practical guide, we provide a step-by-step manual on how to implement and run parent-infant EEG paradigms in a neurodevelopmental laboratory in naturalistic settings (e.g., free interactions). Next, we highlight insights on the variety of choices that can be made during (pre)processing dual-EEG data, including recommendations on interpersonal neural coupling metrics and interpretations of the results. Moreover, we provide an exemplar dataset of two mother-infant dyads during free interactions ("free play") that may serve as practice material. Instead of providing a critical note, we would like to move the field of parent-infant EEG forward and be transparent about the challenges that come along with the exciting opportunity to study the development of our social brain within the naturalistic context of dual-EEG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Turk
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
| | - Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | | | - Jonathan Levy
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
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9
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Turk E, Vroomen J, Fonken Y, Levy J, van den Heuvel MI. In sync with your child: The potential of parent-child electroencephalography in developmental research. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22221. [PMID: 35312051 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Healthy interaction between parent and child is foundational for the child's socioemotional development. Recently, an innovative paradigm shift in electroencephalography (EEG) research has enabled the simultaneous measurement of neural activity in caregiver and child. This dual-EEG or hyperscanning approach, termed parent-child dual-EEG, combines the strength of both behavioral observations and EEG methods. In this review, we aim to inform on the potential of dual-EEG in parents and children (0-6 years) for developmental researchers. We first provide a general overview of the dual-EEG technique and continue by reviewing the first empirical work on the emerging field of parent-child dual-EEG, discussing the limited but fascinating findings on parent-child brain-to-behavior and brain-to-brain synchrony. We then continue by providing an overview of dual-EEG analysis techniques, including the technical challenges and solutions one may encounter. We finish by discussing the potential of parent-child dual-EEG for the future of developmental research. The analysis of multiple EEG data is technical and challenging, but when performed well, parent-child EEG may transform the way we understand how caregiver and child connect on a neurobiological level. Importantly, studying objective physiological measures of parent-child interactions could lead to the identification of novel brain-to-brain synchrony markers of interaction quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Turk
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Jean Vroomen
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Yvonne Fonken
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), Herzliya, Israel.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland
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10
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DEEP: A dual EEG pipeline for developmental hyperscanning studies. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101104. [PMID: 35367895 PMCID: PMC8980555 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cutting-edge hyperscanning methods led to a paradigm shift in social neuroscience. It allowed researchers to measure dynamic mutual alignment of neural processes between two or more individuals in naturalistic contexts. The ever-growing interest in hyperscanning research calls for the development of transparent and validated data analysis methods to further advance the field. We have developed and tested a dual electroencephalography (EEG) analysis pipeline, namely DEEP. Following the preprocessing of the data, DEEP allows users to calculate Phase Locking Values (PLVs) and cross-frequency PLVs as indices of inter-brain phase alignment of dyads as well as time-frequency responses and EEG power for each participant. The pipeline also includes scripts to control for spurious correlations. Our goal is to contribute to open and reproducible science practices by making DEEP publicly available together with an example mother-infant EEG hyperscanning dataset.
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11
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Marriott Haresign I, Phillips E, Whitehorn M, Goupil L, Noreika V, Leong V, Wass S. Measuring the temporal dynamics of inter-personal neural entrainment in continuous child-adult EEG hyperscanning data. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101093. [PMID: 35248820 PMCID: PMC8899232 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Current approaches to analysing EEG hyperscanning data in the developmental literature typically consider interpersonal entrainment between interacting physiological systems as a time-invariant property. This approach obscures crucial information about how entrainment between interacting systems is established and maintained over time. Here, we describe methods, and present computational algorithms, that will allow researchers to address this gap in the literature. We focus on how two different approaches to measuring entrainment, namely concurrent (e.g., power correlations, phase locking) and sequential (e.g., Granger causality) measures, can be applied to three aspects of the brain signal: amplitude, power, and phase. We guide the reader through worked examples using simulated data on how to leverage these methods to measure changes in interbrain entrainment. For each, we aim to provide a detailed explanation of the interpretation and application of these analyses when studying neural entrainment during early social interactions.
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12
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Kumaravel VP, Farella E, Parise E, Buiatti M. NEAR: An artifact removal pipeline for human newborn EEG data. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101068. [PMID: 35085870 PMCID: PMC8800139 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) is arising as a valuable method to investigate neurocognitive functions shortly after birth. However, obtaining high-quality EEG data from human newborn recordings is challenging. Compared to adults and older infants, datasets are typically much shorter due to newborns’ limited attentional span and much noisier due to non-stereotyped artifacts mainly caused by uncontrollable movements. We propose Newborn EEG Artifact Removal (NEAR), a pipeline for EEG artifact removal designed explicitly for human newborns. NEAR is based on two key steps: 1) A novel bad channel detection tool based on the Local Outlier Factor (LOF), a robust outlier detection algorithm; 2) A parameter calibration procedure for adapting to newborn EEG data the algorithm Artifacts Subspace Reconstruction (ASR), developed for artifact removal in mobile adult EEG. Tests on simulated data showed that NEAR outperforms existing methods in removing representative newborn non-stereotypical artifacts. NEAR was validated on two developmental populations (newborns and 9-month-old infants) recorded with two different experimental designs (frequency-tagging and ERP). Results show that NEAR artifact removal successfully reproduces established EEG responses from noisy datasets, with a higher statistical significance than the one obtained by existing artifact removal methods. The EEGLAB-based NEAR pipeline is freely available at https://github.com/vpKumaravel/NEAR.
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Rayson H, Debnath R, Alavizadeh S, Fox N, Ferrari PF, Bonaiuto JJ. Detection and Analysis of Cortical Beta Bursts in Developmental EEG Data. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101069. [PMID: 35114447 PMCID: PMC8816670 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Developmental EEG research often involves analyzing signals within various frequency bands, based on the assumption that these signals represent oscillatory neural activity. However, growing evidence suggests that certain frequency bands are dominated by transient burst events in single trials rather than sustained oscillations. This is especially true for the beta band, with adult ‘beta burst’ timing a better predictor of motor behavior than slow changes in average beta amplitude. No developmental research thus far has looked at beta bursts, with techniques used to investigate frequency-specific activity structure rarely even applied to such data. Therefore, we aimed to: i) provide a tutorial for developmental EEG researchers on the application of methods for evaluating the rhythmic versus transient nature of frequency-specific activity; and ii) use these techniques to investigate the existence of sensorimotor beta bursts in infants. We found that beta activity in 12-month-olds did occur in bursts, however differences were also revealed in terms of duration, amplitude, and rate during grasping compared to adults. Application of the techniques illustrated here will be critical for clarifying the functional roles of frequency-specific activity across early development, including the role of beta activity in motor processing and its contribution to differing developmental motor trajectories. Transient bursts rather than oscillations dominate sensorimotor beta activity Lagged coherence indicates the rhythmicity of a signal The p-episode method can be used to identify beta bursts in developmental EEG data Infant sensorimotor beta has a lower peak frequency than adults and consists of longer duration, higher amplitude bursts
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Rayson
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR5229, Bron, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, France.
| | | | - Sanaz Alavizadeh
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR5229, Bron, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, France
| | - Nathan Fox
- University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR5229, Bron, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, France
| | - James J Bonaiuto
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR5229, Bron, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, France
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Carozza S, Leong V. The Role of Affectionate Caregiver Touch in Early Neurodevelopment and Parent-Infant Interactional Synchrony. Front Neurosci 2021; 14:613378. [PMID: 33584178 PMCID: PMC7873991 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.613378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Though rarely included in studies of parent–infant interactions, affectionate touch plays a unique and vital role in infant development. Previous studies in human and rodent models have established that early and consistent affectionate touch from a caregiver confers wide-ranging and holistic benefits for infant psychosocial and neurophysiological development. We begin with an introduction to the neurophysiological pathways for the positive effects of touch. Then, we provide a brief review of how affectionate touch tunes the development of infant somatosensory, autonomic (stress regulation), and immune systems. Affective touch also plays a foundational role in the establishment of social affiliative bonds and early psychosocial behavior. These touch-related bonding effects are known to be mediated primarily by the oxytocin system, but touch also activates mesocorticolimbic dopamine and endogenous opioid systems which aid the development of social cognitive processes such as social learning and reward processing. We conclude by proposing a unique role for affectionate touch as an essential pathway to establishing and maintaining parent-infant interactional synchrony at behavioral and neural levels. The limitations of the current understanding of affectionate touch in infant development point to fruitful avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Carozza
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, Faculty of Biology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria Leong
- Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Jouen AL, Lancheros M, Laganaro M. Microstate ERP Analyses to Pinpoint the Articulatory Onset in Speech Production. Brain Topogr 2020; 34:29-40. [PMID: 33161471 PMCID: PMC7803690 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-020-00803-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The use of electroencephalography (EEG) to study overt speech production has increased substantially in the past 15 years and the alignment of evoked potential (ERPs) on the response onset has become an extremely useful method to target “latest” stages of speech production. Yet, response-locked ERPs raise a methodological issue: on which event should the point of alignment be placed? Response-locked ERPs are usually aligned to the vocal (acoustic) onset, although it is well known that articulatory movements may start up to a hundred milliseconds prior to the acoustic onset and that this “articulatory onset to acoustic onset interval” (AAI) depends on the phoneme properties. Given the previously reported difficulties to measure the AAI, the purpose of this study was to determine if the AAI could be reliably detected with EEG-microstates. High-density EEG was recorded during delayed speech production of monosyllabic pseudowords with four different onset consonants. Whereas the acoustic response onsets varied depending on the onset consonant, the response-locked spatiotemporal EEG analysis revealed a clear asynchrony of the same sequence of microstates across onset consonants. A specific microstate, the latest observed in the ERPs locked to the vocal onset, presented longer duration for phonemes with longer acoustic response onsets. Converging evidences seemed to confirm that this microstate may be related to the articulatory onset of motor execution: its scalp topography corresponded to those previously associated with muscle activity and source localization highlighted the involvement of motor areas. Finally, the analyses on the duration of such microstate in single trials further fit with the AAI intervals for specific phonemes reported in previous studies. These results thus suggest that a particular ERP-microstate is a reliable index of articulation onset and of the AAI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Lise Jouen
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science (FPSE), University of Geneva, 28 Boulevard du Pont d'Arve, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Monica Lancheros
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science (FPSE), University of Geneva, 28 Boulevard du Pont d'Arve, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marina Laganaro
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science (FPSE), University of Geneva, 28 Boulevard du Pont d'Arve, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
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