Theta- and alpha-band EEG activity in response to eye gaze cues in early infancy

Abstract

In order to elucidate the development of how infants use eye gaze as a referential cue, we investigated theta and alpha oscillations in response to object-directed and object-averted eye gaze in infants aged 2, 4, 5, and 9 months. At 2 months of age, no difference between conditions was found. In 4-and 9-month-olds, alpha-band activity desynchronized more in response to faces looking at objects compared to faces looking away from objects. Theta activity in 5-month-old infants differed between conditions with more theta synchronization for object-averted eye gaze. Whereas alpha desynchronization might reflect mechanisms of early social object learning, theta is proposed to imply activity in the executive attention network. The interplay between alpha-and theta activity represents developmental changes in both kinds of processes during early infancy.

Building blocks of joint attention: Early sensitivity to having one’s own gaze followed

“…A reduction in alpha power over parieto-occipital regions (‘visual’ alpha) has been linked specifically to attentional or arousal mechanisms, such as the suppression of irrelevant environmental information ( Michel et al, 2015 ; Ward, 2003 ). Widespread alpha ERD has been observed in 9-month-olds who are currently looking at the same object as an adult, after that adult has made eye contact with them ( Hoehl et al, 2014 ), and infant alpha ERD is greater during observation of another’s object-directed compared to object-averted gaze ( Michel et al, 2015 ). Alpha ERD in similar regions is also found in adults during concurrent gaze to an object in the context of JA ( Lachat et al, 2012 ).…”

“…Alpha ERD in similar regions is also found in adults during concurrent gaze to an object in the context of JA ( Lachat et al, 2012 ). All these studies have linked parieto-occipital alpha to increases in attention, and hence, to processes that could aid object encoding and social learning in infancy ( Hoehl et al, 2014 ; Michel et al, 2015 ). Although actors in both conditions made eye contact with the infant before turning to an object in our study, differences between alpha ERD in congruent and incongruent trials may have reflected, at least in part, more focused attention in the congruent condition.…”

“…Negative baseline-corrected alpha power therefore indicates alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD), while positive values indicate alpha event-related synchronization (ERS). A 5–8 Hz band was used for 6.5-month-olds and 6–9 Hz for 9.5-month-olds, corresponding to the typical ranges used with these age groups and the increasing alpha peaks previously identified over these months ( Cannon et al, 2016 ; Marshall et al, 2002 ; Michel et al, 2015 ; Nyström, 2008 ; Nyström et al, 2011 ). Changes in alpha power were computed over six windows of interest (WOIs): 0–500 ms, 500–1000 ms, 1000–1500 ms, 1500–2000 ms, 2000–2500 ms, and 2500–3000 ms after the onset of the observed adult head turn, allowing us to look at the timing of alpha activity changes.…”

Association between theta power in 6-month old infants at rest and maternal PTSD severity: A pilot study

“…Whether spectral power in the same frequency band is associated with similar behavior in infants is an emerging field of study [33]. Recently theta power has been associated with social and emotional processing and attention in infants [34]. Orekhova et al [35] determined that theta oscillations were modulated by a peek-a-boo game at 9-10 months of age.…”

An integrated EEG and eye-tracking approach for the study of responding and initiating joint attention in Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…In RJA task, there was an increase of theta and alpha, while delta band increased in IJA. Consistently, theta and alpha power have been related to eye gaze processing 39 . In particular theta oscillations may imply the activity of the frontal cortex including an attention network involved in executive and voluntary control of attention 40 , while alpha has been related, in adults, to attention mechanisms that actively suppress distracting information to focus on the relevant input 41 .…”