Neuronales Entrainment & dynamische Aufmerksamkeit bei Babys

Wider research context/theoretical framework
Brain activity is organized in rhythms, so called neural oscillations. Human adults are able to selectively entrain these oscillations to rhythmic stimuli enabling a process termed dynamic attending. Although our understanding of neural oscillations in adults is steadily increasing, the functionality of oscillations in the
infant electroencephalogram (EEG) and the developmental onset and relevance of dynamic attending in infancy are still unclear.
Hypotheses/research questions/objectives
We will test whether infants show dynamic attending to task-relevant rhythmic stimulus streams and whether this ability predicts their later cognitive outcomes. We hypothesize that infants at 6 and 12 months of age will show enhanced neuronal entrainment to attended periodic visual stimuli (steady-state visual
evoked potentials, SSVEP). By 12 months of age infants’ oscillations are expected to preferentially entrain to task-relevant, predictive stimuli, specifically when these are presented in frequencies adjusted to the infants’ endogenous neural oscillations. Individual differences in infants’ ability to selectively entrain brain
oscillations are hypothesized to predict their cognitive performance, attention control, and language skills at 24 months. Functional connectivity between prefrontal and sensory cortices is expected to increase with age and will be associated with infants’ dynamic attending and cognitive functioning.
Approach/methods
In work package 1 (WP1) we will test infants at 6 and 12 months longitudinally (N=140) using fast periodic visual stimulation paradigms while measuring their brain activity with EEG. We will establish whether infants show enhanced SSVEPs for attended vs. unattended stimuli (task 1) and whether they selectively entrain to task-relevant stimuli which are predictive of rewards (task 2). In WP2 we will follow up on infants taking part in WP1 at 24 months of age and assess developmental outcomes using a range of age-appropriate tasks and batteries. This longitudinal design will allow us to assess intrapersonal stability in children’s ability to selectively entrain brain oscillations to relevant external rhythms as well as interpersonal variability expected to explain variance in later cognitive outcomes.
Level of originality/innovation
This project will establish visual entrainment as an effective tool to study cognitive development in infancy and thus open up a range of new research perspectives for the field. We will gain insights on how fundamental cognitive processes such as selective attention relate to infants’ ability to entrain neuronal
oscillations to external rhythms. By studying long-term consequences of infants’ individual differences in selective entrainment, we will lay the groundwork for advancing our understanding of typical and atypical cognitive development.
Primary researchers involved
Stefanie Höhl (PI), Annett Schirmer