Caregivers often engage in musical interactions with their infants. For example, parents across cultures sing lullabies and playsongs to their infants from birth. Behavioral studies indicate that infants not only extract beat information, but also group these beats into metrical hierarchies by as early as 6 months of age. However, it is not known how this is accomplished in the infant brain. An EEG frequency-tagging approach has been used successfully with adults to measure neural entrainment to auditory rhythms. The current study is the first to use this technique with infants in order to investigate how infants' brains encode rhythms. Furthermore, we examine how infant and parent music background is associated with individual differences in rhythm encoding. In Experiment 1, EEG was recorded while 7-month-old infants listened to an ambiguous rhythmic pattern that could be perceived to be in two different meters. In Experiment 2, EEG was recorded while 15-month-old infants listened to a rhythmic pattern with an unambiguous meter. In both age groups, information about music background (parent music training, infant music classes, hours of music listening) was collected. Both age groups showed clear EEG responses frequency-locked to the rhythms, at frequencies corresponding to both beat and meter. For the younger infants (Experiment 1), the amplitudes at duple meter frequencies were selectively enhanced for infants enrolled in music classes compared to those who had not engaged in such classes. For the older infants (Experiment 2), amplitudes at beat and meter frequencies were larger for infants with musically-trained compared to musically-untrained parents. These results suggest that the frequency-tagging method is sensitive to individual differences in beat and meter processing in infancy and could be used to track developmental changes.

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People readily extract regularity in rhythmic auditory patterns, enabling prediction of the onset of the next beat. Recent magnetoencephalography (MEG) research suggests that such prediction is reflected by the entrainment of oscillatory networks in the brain to the tempo of the sequence. In particular, induced beta-band oscillatory activity from auditory cortex decreases after each beat onset and rebounds prior to the onset of the next beat across tempi in a predictive manner. The objective of the present study was to examine the development of such oscillatory activity by comparing electroencephalography (EEG) measures of beta-band fluctuations in 7-year-old children to adults. EEG was recorded while participants listened passively to isochronous tone sequences at three tempi (390, 585, and 780 ms for onset-to-onset interval). In adults, induced power in the high beta-band (20–25 Hz) decreased after each tone onset and rebounded prior to the onset of the next tone across tempo conditions, consistent with MEG findings. In children, a similar pattern was measured in the two slower tempo conditions, but was weaker in the fastest condition. The results indicate that the beta-band timing network works similarly in children, although there are age-related changes in consistency and the tempo range over which it operates.

MOVING IN SYNCHRONY WITH OTHERS ENCOURAGESprosocial behavior. Adults who walk, sing, or tap together are later more likely to be cooperative, helpful, and rate each other as likeable. Our previous studies demonstrated that interpersonal synchrony encourages helpfulness even in 14-month-old infants. However, in those studies, infants always experienced interpersonal synchrony in a musical context. Here we investigated whether synchronous movement in a nonmusical context has similar effects on infant helpfulness. Fourteen-month-olds were bounced gently while the experimenter faced the infant and bounced with them either in-or out-of-synchrony. In contrast to our previous studies, instead of listening to music during this interpersonal movement phase while being bounced, infants listened to nonrhythmic nature sounds. We then tested infant prosociality directed toward the experimenter. Results showed that synchronous bouncing still encouraged more prosociality than asynchronous bouncing, despite the absence of music. However, helping was more delayed and fussiness rates were much higher than in our previous studies with music. Thus music may not be necessary for interpersonal synchrony to influence infant helpfulness, but the presence of music may act as a mood regulator or distractor to help keep infants happy and allow them to fully experience the effects of synchronous movement.

A growing body of research supports the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in incarcerated populations; however, treatment effectiveness remains unclear. This meta-analysis of 22 studies ( N = 2,265, 75% male) quantified the effectiveness of MBIs in incarcerated populations on key psychological outcomes and criminogenic needs. Results from pre–post studies indicated MBIs had a small to moderate effect on all outcomes, but this was not supported by controlled studies. Studies with older participants, more females, and longer treatment length demonstrated slightly greater effects. Results from pre–post analyses demonstrated significant reductions in psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety, and stress) and criminogenic needs (impulsivity, self-dysregulation, anger, substance use behavior, and attitude). However, only depression and anxiety were significantly reduced in controlled studies. Although findings offer preliminary support of the efficacy of MBIs in targeting psychological health in incarcerated populations, further controlled studies are required to examine criminogenic outcomes and recidivism rates after treatment.

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Forensic inpatients (i. e., individuals found not responsible for a criminal offense on account of mental illness) represent an often marginalized and difficult-to-treat population. This has led to the need for research exploring the effectiveness of novel interventions. A Canadian forensic hospital has developed an 8-weeks mindfulness and yoga training program (MTP). This pilot study examined the potential effects of this program on patients' mindfulness, stress, and use of cognitive and emotion regulation strategies. A sample of 13 forensic inpatients (male = 92%) participating in the MTP program completed self-report measures assessing dispositional mindfulness, perceived stress, and use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies at baseline, post-intervention, and a 3-months follow-up. Repeated measure ANOVAs found a significant increase in the describe facet of mindfulness (p = 0.03) with a large effect size (ηp2 = 0.26) and a significant decrease in stress (p = 0.003) with a large effect size (ηp2 = 0.39). Pairwise comparisons revealed medium to large significant changes between baseline and post-intervention for both the describe facet (p = 0.03, Hedge's g = 0.55) and stress (p = 0.003, Hedge's g = 0.70). However, comparisons were insignificant between baseline and follow-up. No significant main effects were found on the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies. This pilot study offers preliminary support for the use of the MTP as an adjunctive therapy in forensic inpatient treatment. Further investigation is needed into the long-term impacts of this training.

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