Investigators of cognitive development have historically relied nearly exclusively on studying how the infant behaves. This has limited our knowledge of this area in several important respects. For example, the link between cognition and behavior is not always clear, both because the infant is a motorically immature organism and because what the infant knows may not always be reflected in how the infant behaves. More importantly, we know from behavioral studies that infants attain certain milestones in their cognitive growth over the first year of life (e.g., object permanence). Although it is often assumed that these behavioral changes are brought about by corresponding changes in the brain, behavioral measures alone are unable to elucidate this relationship. For these and other reasons it seems imperative to move beyond the study of behavior to include, as well, the study of underlying physiological activity. Because of the critical role the brain plays in mediating cognitive processes, it seems reasonable to propose that the brain be the subject of this study. It is to this end that the current proposal is directed. Specifically, long-latency Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) will be recorded from the scalp in 4- to 12-month-old infants as a means of studying infant memory. In order to relate changes in the brain to changes in infants' behavior in several of the proposed studies behavioral measures will be recorded as well. The first two experiments are designed to extend previous research by the P. I. (Nelson & Salapatek, 1986), by examining infants' cortical and behavioral responses to stimulus noveity (Experiment 1), and infants' cortical responses to a stimulus omission (Experiment 2). The third experiment examines the relationship between infants' ERP response to novelty, and subsequent recognition memory as assessed behaviorally. Experiment 4 has as its focus infants' memory for changes in stimulus duration, and in the final experiment the electrophysiological correlates of cross-modal transfer are examined. Collectively the goal of this proposal is to study infant memory through the examination of both cortical and behavioral response systems.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD023389-03
Application #
3323558
Study Section
Communication Sciences and Disorders (CMS)
Project Start
1987-09-01
Project End
1991-04-30
Budget Start
1989-09-01
Budget End
1991-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Department
Type
Schools of Education
DUNS #
168559177
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Country
United States
Zip Code
55455
deRegnier, R A; Georgieff, M K; Nelson, C A (1997) Visual event-related brain potentials in 4-month-old infants at risk for neurodevelopmental impairments. Dev Psychobiol 30:11-28
Gunnar, M R; Nelson, C A (1994) Event-related potentials in year-old infants: relations with emotionality and cortisol. Child Dev 65:80-94
Nelson, C A; Collins, P F (1992) Neural and behavioral correlates of visual recognition memory in 4- and 8-month-old infants. Brain Cogn 19:105-21
Kestenbaum, R; Nelson, C A (1992) Neural and behavioral correlates of emotion recognition in children and adults. J Exp Child Psychol 54:1-18
Nelson, C A; Collins, P F; Torres, F (1991) P300 brain activity in seizure patients preceding temporal lobectomy. Arch Neurol 48:141-7
Lang, S F; Nelson, C A; Collins, P F (1990) Event-related potentials to emotional and neutral stimuli. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 12:946-58
Nelson, C A; Collins, P F; Torres, F (1990) The lateralization of language comprehension using event-related potentials. Brain Cogn 14:92-112
Nelson, C A; Ludemann, P M (1989) Past, current, and future trends in infant face perception research. Can J Psychol 43:183-98