Infant Attention and Recognition Memory

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The modified-oddball paradigm has been used to measure ERP components associated with attention and recognition memory in infancy. Infants are familiarized with 2 stimuli and then exposed to brief presentations of three types of memory stimuli: frequent familiar, infrequent familiar, and infrequent novel. A middle latency negative ERP component over central leads labeled Negative Central (Nc) is assumed to reflect a general orienting response associated with attention. The Nc has been found to be greater in amplitude following novel stimulus presentations. A commonly used behavioral measure of recognition memory is the visual paired-comparison choice trial comparing two visual stimuli. No study to date has measured ERPs during paired-comparison trials because of the eye-movement artifacts produced during shifts between stimuli. One goal of the present study is to examine infant ERPs during paired-comparison trials by utilizing independent component analysis to identify and remove eye-movement components from the EEG data. A second goal is to examine the consistency between ERP components and behavioral correlates of attention and recognition memory by embedding paired-comparison trials within the modified-oddball paradigm. Infants 20, 26, and 32 weeks of age will serve as participants. Participants will be exposed to alternating blocks of paired-comparison trials and brief stimulus presentations in order to measure the infants' visual preferences as the study progresses. Electroencephalographic recordings will be made with a 126-channel system and ERP averages will be made from -50 ms to 2000 ms around stimulus onset for brief stimulus exposures, and for the duration of the paired-comparison trials. Results may clarify brain-behavior relationships associated with infant attention and recognition memory, and shed light on the typical course of the development of attention and recognition memory across the first postnatal year. This is a first step toward understanding the development of attention and recogntion memory for atypical populations.