Right Temporal Oscillations of Infants in Relation to Contingent Learning

Contingent learning is an agent for infants to explore the environment, which enhances the maturation of different developmental domains. This paper presents one of the first to investigate neural activities related to contingent learning of infants by analyzing their motor response that could elicit an audio-visual feedback. Three different kinds of motor response of infants were investigated, including unilateral kicks, synchronized kicks, and alternate kicks. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of infants were recorded before the motor experiments. Higher theta band power and lower upper beta power at the right temporal lobe of infants predicted a higher ratio of total unilateral kicks and a lower ratio of synchronized kicks at the later acquisition stage of the experiment. As contingent learning could be reflected by specific motor response in relation to the audio-visual stimuli, the results suggested that right temporal oscillations could predict different levels of contingent learning of infants. Clinical relevance: Identifying brain activities that contribute to contingent learning in infants e.g. toy-play with visual and auditory feedback may screen infants with potential delayed motor development. Importantly, clinical practitioners will be able to design or evaluate the efficacy of intervention through assessing both the neurophysiological and behaviors parameters.