Cortical specialisation to social stimuli from the first days to the second year of life: A rural Gambian cohort

Abstract

Brain and nervous system development in human infants during the first 1000 days (conception to two years of age) is critical, and compromised development during this time (such as from under nutrition or poverty) can have life-long effects on physical growth and cognitive function. Cortical mapping of cognitive function during infancy is poorly understood in resource-poor settings due to the lack of transportable and low-cost neuroimaging methods. Having established a signature cortical response to social versus non-social visual and auditory stimuli in infants from 4 to 6 months of age in the UK, here we apply this functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) paradigm to investigate social responses in infants from the first postnatal days to the second year of life in two contrasting environments: rural Gambian and urban UK. Results reveal robust, localized, socially selective brain responses from 9 to 24 months of life to both the visual and auditory stimuli. In contrast at 0–2 months of age infants exhibit non-social auditory selectivity, an effect that persists until 4–8 months when we observe a transition to greater social stimulus selectivity. These findings reveal a robust developmental curve of cortical specialisation over the first two years of life.

The present and future use of functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for cognitive neuroscience

“…Examples of Gambian infants from 6 to 24 months undertaking the study described in Ref. (A). Data were recorded using the UCL optical topography system with 12 channels.…”

Adaptation of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning for use among infants aged 5‐ to 24‐months in rural Gambia

“…In preparation for this large‐scale study, multiple feasibility and pilot studies have been conducted combining neuroimaging (fNIRS, EEG), behavioural (MSEL) and growth measures in a longitudinal and cross‐sectional design. Results of the early fNIRS studies have already been published (Begus et al., ; Lloyd‐Fox et al., , ; Papademetriou et al., ). The present study describes the outcomes of a series of pilot studies using the key cognitive development behavioural assessment of the BRIGHT study—the MSEL.…”

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy: Enabling routine functional brain imaging

“…(b) fNIRS headgear on a 13-month-old infant. Modified with permission from [42], photo credit to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (c) Battery operated and wireless unit allows untethered outdoor measurement during mobility studies.…”

“…Also, because of the thinner scalp and skull compared to adults, the fNIRS cerebral sensitivity is great in infants. These advantages have led to the adoption of fNIRS for a vast range of studies of both typical and atypical neurodevelopment ([42][43][44]), including the development of object and face processing, number processing, language acquisition, social communication, and neuromotor development. Studies of atypical functional development have focused mainly on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder.…”