summary: Researchers found that 16-month-old infants were using more brain regions to develop cognitive skills such as inhibitory control, and a study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) showed increased brain activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortices.
Although there was no significant improvement in skills, there were significant changes in the brain between 10 and 16 months of age, suggesting that 16 months is a crucial time for developing the ability to follow directions and control impulses.
Key Facts:
- Enhanced brain activity: 16-month-old infants use more brain regions for cognitive tasks.
- Inhibitory Control: Although there was no improvement in performance in key skills related to impulse control, changes were seen in the brain.
- Critical periods: The 16-month period is a crucial time for brain development and cognitive abilities.
sauce: University of Bristol
Around 16 months of age, infants begin to activate more areas of the brain and develop important cognitive skills, such as being able to follow simple instructions and control impulses.
Led by the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, Imaging NeuroscienceIt suggests that 16 months is a critical period for brain development.
The first two years of a child’s life are crucial for the development of cognitive abilities, especially executive functions that help regulate thoughts, actions, and behaviors in everyday life.
Inhibitory control is a key executive function. This particular skill allows a person to stop themselves from doing something due to an impulse, habit, or temptation. It is already known that inhibitory control begins to develop during infancy and continues to grow through toddlerhood. However, until now, the brain mechanisms involved in its development were unknown.
Researchers from the University of Oxford BabyLab and the University of Bristol BabyLab sought to examine brain activity in 16-month-old infants using a child-specific brain-imaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). They had 103 infants complete a simple touchscreen task that required inhibitory control skills.
This experiment allowed the researchers to see which brain areas are activated when inhibitory control skills are used.The study replicated an earlier experiment conducted with the same group of children at 10 months of age.
Previous studies have found that 10-month-old infants use the right side of the prefrontal and parietal cortex for inhibitory control. In this latest study, the team shows that by 16 months of age, infants use the left parietal cortex and both sides of the prefrontal cortex more extensively.
Interestingly, these brain changes occur despite the fact that how well the children performed on the task remained the same between 10 and 16 months of age. When the researchers tested the same group of children at 10 and 16 months of age, they found that as the babies grew into toddlers, the brain activation associated with this skill changed dramatically, even though they continued to try to stop the habitual behavior. This suggests that 16-month-olds were using more areas of the brain than 10-month-olds, even though the visible skill remained the same.
The findings reveal that 16 months is a critical period for brain development, when young children learn to follow simple instructions and control their impulses.
The research was led by Abigail Fisk, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, and Carla Holmboe, Associate Professor in Developmental Science in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Bristol.
“These findings are intriguing as they shed new light on major brain changes across the transition from infancy to toddlerhood, despite the lack of improvement in inhibitory control abilities,” the researchers said.
“Our findings provide new knowledge about the role of brain regions in early development and may aid future research in elucidating how an important cognitive ability (inhibitory control) and the brain regions involved in it develop from infancy to adulthood.”
Fisk and Holmboe added, “What does this mean for parents and caregivers? We often notice that young children have a hard time stopping what they’re doing. Our research shows that there are many changes happening in young children’s brains, and we think these changes support the acquisition of this important new skill.”
About this cognitive development research news
author: Abigail Fisk
sauce: University of Bristol
contact: Abigail Fisk – University of Bristol
image: Image courtesy of Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Neural correlates of response inhibition during the infancy-to-toddler transition: an fNIRS studyAbigail Fisk et al. Imaging Neuroscience
Abstract
Neural correlates of response inhibition during the infancy-to-toddler transition: an fNIRS study
The transition from late infancy to toddlerhood is a critical period in early development. During this period, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) undergoes a process of structural and functional maturation in parallel with the emergence and improvement of executive function skills, such as inhibitory control.
Despite the importance of this developmental period, little is known about the emergence and development of response inhibition, a form of inhibitory control, and its associated neural substrates during this critical transition.
Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), an optical imaging technique suitable for imaging the developing brain, and an age-appropriate response inhibition task, we investigated brain regions associated with response inhibition in 16-month-old infants.
This preregistered study extends a previous study of 10-month-old infants ( Fiske et al., 2022 ) and is now following the same cohort of participants at 16 months of age. Whereas previous work showed that 10-month-old infants recruit right-sided regions of the PFC and parietal cortex when inhibition is required, the current study suggests that by 16 months of age, infants recruit bilateral regions of the left superior parietal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, and dorsolateral PFC and orbitofrontal cortex.
Although we found no longitudinal changes in response inhibition performance, more extensive bilateral regions of the PFC were recruited during response inhibition at 16 months compared with 10 months. We acknowledge the need to replicate these results.
However, our findings suggest that the transition from infancy to toddlerhood may constitute a critical period of PFC reorganization that may support the development of early inhibitory control processes.
