Negative affect is related to reduced differential neural responses to social and non-social stimuli in 5-to-8-month-old infants: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy-study

• Published in: Developmental cognitive neuroscience Vol. 30; pp. 23 - 30
• Main Authors: van der Kant, Anne, Biro, Szilvia, Levelt, Claartje, Huijbregts, Stephan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2018; Elsevier
• Subjects: Brain Mapping - methods; Female; fNIRS; Functional near-infrared spectroscopy; Humans; Infant; Infant Behavior - physiology; Infant Behavior - psychology; Infants; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Movement - physiology; Negative affect; Original Research; Photic Stimulation - methods; Random Allocation; Social Perception; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared - methods; Temperament; Temporal Lobe - metabolism; Infants; fNIRS; Social perception; Functional near-infrared spectroscopy; Temperament; Negative affect
• ISSN: 1878-9293; 1878-9307
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.12.003

•Blood oxygenation changes in infants’ right posterior temporal cortex reflect processing of social dynamic compared to non-social dynamic stimuli.•Higher levels of Negative Affect are related to a weaker hemodynamic response to social compared to non-social stimuli in the right posterior-temporal cortex.•High Negative Affect may contribute to difficulties in social-interactive behavior later in life via reduced cortical specialization for social perception in infancy. Both social perception and temperament in young infants have been related to social functioning later in life. Previous functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) data (Lloyd-Fox et al., 2009) showed larger blood-oxygenation changes for social compared to non-social stimuli in the posterior temporal cortex of five-month-old infants. We sought to replicate and extend these findings by using fNIRS to study the neural basis of social perception in relation to infant temperament (Negative Affect) in 37 five-to-eight-month-old infants. Infants watched short videos displaying either hand and facial movements of female actors (social dynamic condition) or moving toys and machinery (non-social dynamic condition), while fNIRS data were collected over temporal brain regions. Negative Affect was measured using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Results showed significantly larger blood-oxygenation changes in the right posterior-temporal region in the social compared to the non-social condition. Furthermore, this differential activation was smaller in infants showing higher Negative Affect. Our results replicate those of Lloyd-Fox et al. and confirmed that five-to-eight-month-old infants show cortical specialization for social perception. Furthermore, the decreased cortical sensitivity to social stimuli in infants showing high Negative Affect may be an early biomarker for later difficulties in social interaction.