2024
Infant neuroscience: how to measure brain activity in the youngest minds
Turk-Browne N, Aslin R. Infant neuroscience: how to measure brain activity in the youngest minds. Trends In Neurosciences 2024, 47: 338-354. PMID: 38570212, DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2024.02.003.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsConceptsFunctional magnetic resonance imagingFunctional near-infrared spectroscopyMeasure brain activityBrain activityApplication of functional magnetic resonance imagingHuman infantsCognitive neuroscienceCognitive tasksInfant brainAwake infantsMagnetic resonance imagingNear-infrared spectroscopyMagnetoencephalographyMindfulnessResonance imagingNon-invasive methodInfantsElectroencephalography
2023
Multiple pathways to developmental continuity in infant cognition
Aslin R, Fox N, Lewkowicz D, Maurer D, Nelson C, von Hofsten C. Multiple pathways to developmental continuity in infant cognition. Trends In Cognitive Sciences 2023, 27: 692-693. PMID: 37321924, DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.007.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2022
Predictive brain signals mediate association between shared reading and expressive vocabulary in infants
Wang S, Tzeng O, Aslin R. Predictive brain signals mediate association between shared reading and expressive vocabulary in infants. PLOS ONE 2022, 17: e0272438. PMID: 35921370, PMCID: PMC9348734, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272438.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExpressive vocabularyShared reading experiencesReading experienceBrain signalsExpressive vocabulary acquisitionEfficient language processingFurther mediation analysisUnique varianceUpcoming informationVocabulary acquisitionLanguage learningMediation analysisInfant brainLanguage processingVocabularyPredictive signalsMaternal educationOccipital lobeExperiencePresent studyTaskFirst evidenceLearningReadingProcessingMacaques preferentially attend to intermediately surprising information
Wu S, Blanchard T, Meschke E, Aslin RN, Hayden BY, Kidd C. Macaques preferentially attend to intermediately surprising information. Biology Letters 2022, 18: 20220144. PMID: 35857891, PMCID: PMC9256086, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0144.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTop-down sensory prediction in the infant brain at 6 months is correlated with language development at 12 and 18 months
Wang S, Zhang X, Hong T, Tzeng OJL, Aslin R. Top-down sensory prediction in the infant brain at 6 months is correlated with language development at 12 and 18 months. Brain And Language 2022, 230: 105129. PMID: 35576737, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105129.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMacArthur-Bates Communicative Development InventoriesLanguage developmentSensory predictionsVocabulary scoresVocabulary developmentVisual stimuliOccipital cortex activationCommunicative Development InventoryInfant language developmentExpressive vocabulary scoresInfants' vocabulary developmentNeural levelUnexpected omissionAuditory stimuliDevelopment InventoryNeural responsesCortex activationInfant brainNeural signalsPrevious researchStimuliSignificant positive correlationRobust supportMonthsScoresTime-resolved multivariate pattern analysis of infant EEG data: A practical tutorial
Ashton K, Zinszer BD, Cichy RM, Nelson CA, Aslin RN, Bayet L. Time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis of infant EEG data: A practical tutorial. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2022, 54: 101094. PMID: 35248819, PMCID: PMC8897621, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101094.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTime-resolved multivariate pattern analysisMultivariate pattern analysisInfant EEG dataEEG dataRepresentational similarity analysisRelevant stimulus dimensionCognitive neuroscienceStudy of childrenNeural representationStimulus dimensionsStudy of infantsChance accuracyStimulus imagesArtifact-free EEG dataPattern analysisCommon infantInfant neuroimagingElectro-encephalographyLinear SVM classificationSimilarity analysisAttentional orienting abilities in bilinguals: Evidence from a large infant sample
Arredondo MM, Aslin RN, Zhang M, Werker JF. Attentional orienting abilities in bilinguals: Evidence from a large infant sample. Infant Behavior And Development 2022, 66: 101683. PMID: 34999429, PMCID: PMC8842846, DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101683.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBilingual cognitive advantageOrienting of attentionSignificant developmental gainsHigher cognitive functionsBilingual infantsOrienting tasksCognitive advantagesInfants' performanceCognitive developmentDevelopmental gainsInfluence infantsBilingual environmentLongitudinal subsetLarge sampleCurrent studyInfant samplesOrientingBilingualsInconclusive evidenceTaskSmall samplesInfantsPerformanceEvidenceKey questions
2021
Towards a model of language neurobiology in early development
Sanchez-Alonso S, Aslin RN. Towards a model of language neurobiology in early development. Brain And Language 2021, 224: 105047. PMID: 34894429, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.105047.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLanguage outcomesTrait-like patternsLanguage learning mechanismsNeural measuresInfants' sensitivityCognitive domainsRecent behavioralIndividual differencesMaturational constraintsNeural patternsLanguage networkValid paradigmBehavioral measuresLanguage learningFuture methodological approachesLearning mechanismNeural plasticitySubject differencesNeurobiologyClinical interventionsEarly childhoodDevelopmental patternsEarly developmentAnalytic approachMeasuresBilingualism alters infants’ cortical organization for attentional orienting mechanisms
Arredondo MM, Aslin RN, Werker JF. Bilingualism alters infants’ cortical organization for attentional orienting mechanisms. Developmental Science 2021, 25: e13172. PMID: 34418259, PMCID: PMC11225098, DOI: 10.1111/desc.13172.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBrain activityFrontal regionsValid trialsNon-linguistic cognitive functionsAttentional orienting mechanismsGreater brain activityEarly language experienceCortical organizationHigher cognitive functionsBilateral frontal regionsInvalid trialsAttention taskLanguage experienceOrienting mechanismTask performanceGreater activityBilingual environmentCognitive functionInfant brainNeural activityBrain structuresParent reportingMonolingualsBilingualsBilingualismA distributional perspective on the gavagai problem in early word learning
Aslin RN, Wang AF. A distributional perspective on the gavagai problem in early word learning. Cognition 2021, 213: 104680. PMID: 33853740, PMCID: PMC8324554, DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104680.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEarly word learningWord learningProperty wordsObject wordsNovel labelWhole objectStatistical learning paradigmObjects/eventsAppropriate grammatical categoryDistributional informationRapid namingWord learnersReferential ambiguityNovel objectsPossible referentsNaïve learnersLanguage inputObject propertiesLearning paradigmPlausible accountGrammatical categoriesWordsYoung infantsCorpus analysisLearning
2020
Categorization in infancy based on novelty and co-occurrence
Wu R, Kurum E, Ahmed C, Sain D, Aslin RN. Categorization in infancy based on novelty and co-occurrence. Infant Behavior And Development 2020, 62: 101510. PMID: 33291063, DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101510.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTest trialsObject familiarityNovel objectsObject trialsFamiliar objectsObject categoriesEveryday situationsFamiliar categoriesAbstract categoriesSame categoryNovel categoryFamiliarityObjectsDifferent categoriesInformation abstractionFamiliarizationCategoriesCategorizationInfantsTime studyItemsNoveltyInfancyTrialsAbilityPredictive modeling of neurobehavioral state and trait variation across development
Sanchez-Alonso S, Aslin RN. Predictive modeling of neurobehavioral state and trait variation across development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2020, 45: 100855. PMID: 32942148, PMCID: PMC7501421, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100855.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTemporal dynamics of visual representations in the infant brain
Bayet L, Zinszer BD, Reilly E, Cataldo JK, Pruitt Z, Cichy RM, Nelson CA, Aslin RN. Temporal dynamics of visual representations in the infant brain. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2020, 45: 100860. PMID: 32932205, PMCID: PMC7498752, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100860.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInfant brainComplex visual stimuliVisual representationPairwise classification accuracyEEG dataNeural correlatesNeural representationMental representationsVisual domainVisual objectsRepresentational contentStimulus onsetVisual stimuliNeural activationNeural activityComputational neuroscienceDevelopmental reorganizationIndividual infantsTemporal dynamicsAdult controlsRepresentationAdultsClassification accuracyNeuroscienceAge groups
2018
Expectation affects neural repetition suppression in infancy
Emberson LL, Boldin AM, Robertson CE, Cannon G, Aslin RN. Expectation affects neural repetition suppression in infancy. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2018, 37: 100597. PMID: 30473471, PMCID: PMC6918478, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.11.001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInfants' neural responsesRepetition suppressionNeural responsesInfant brainNeural repetition suppressionAuditory repetition suppressionControl conditionSame stimulus resultsPredictive processingAuditory stimuliStimulus presentationNeural activationNeural phenomenaPredictive codingStimuli resultsStimuliRecent workFNIRSExpectationsContextBrainParadigmRepetitionProcessingInfancy
2017
Nature and origins of the lexicon in 6-mo-olds
Bergelson E, Aslin RN. Nature and origins of the lexicon in 6-mo-olds. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2017, 114: 12916-12921. PMID: 29158399, PMCID: PMC5724273, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1712966114.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchIndexical and linguistic processing by 12-month-olds: Discrimination of speaker, accent and vowel differences
Mulak KE, Bonn CD, Chládková K, Aslin RN, Escudero P. Indexical and linguistic processing by 12-month-olds: Discrimination of speaker, accent and vowel differences. PLOS ONE 2017, 12: e0176762. PMID: 28520762, PMCID: PMC5435166, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176762.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsIndexical variationLanguage inputInfants' speech processingLarger receptive vocabulariesSame vowel categoryChildren's language inputIndexical variabilityPhoneme acquisitionInfants' sensitivityReceptive vocabularyDifferent accentsSpeech tokensCategory boundariesIndexical cuesLinguistic processingLinguistic cuesDistributional learningIndividual speakersVowel categoriesSpeech processingVowel differencesSpeakersSame speakerLearning contextSpeaker variabilityDecoding the infant mind: Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) using fNIRS
Emberson LL, Zinszer BD, Raizada RDS, Aslin RN. Decoding the infant mind: Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) using fNIRS. PLOS ONE 2017, 12: e0172500. PMID: 28426802, PMCID: PMC5398514, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172500.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMultivariate pattern analysisInfant mindPattern analysisFMRI workCognitive neuroscientistsSame physiological signalsNeural activationAnalytic sophisticationFNIRS communityIdiosyncratic patternsFNIRSPhysiological signalsBetter spatial localizationTaskTrial patternsGroup modelMindCurrent paperFMRIType of populationMethodological toolsAverage patternSpatial localizationNeuroscientistsMRI environmentDeficits in Top-Down Sensory Prediction in Infants At Risk due to Premature Birth
Emberson LL, Boldin AM, Riccio JE, Guillet R, Aslin RN. Deficits in Top-Down Sensory Prediction in Infants At Risk due to Premature Birth. Current Biology 2017, 27: 431-436. PMID: 28132814, PMCID: PMC5508567, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.028.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSensory predictionsVisual stimuliNeural responsesNeuro-cognitive impairmentPoor developmental outcomesNeural signaturesDevelopmental delayDevelopmental trajectoriesPattern violationsPreterm infantsInfants experienceNeuro-biomarkersDevelopmental outcomesBehavioral controlTheoretical viewsDeficitsPreterm infants experienceStimuliMedical complicationsPremature birthCommon causeIntervention regimensEarly identificationInfantsDevelopmental disturbances
2016
Using fNIRS to examine occipital and temporal responses to stimulus repetition in young infants: Evidence of selective frontal cortex involvement
Emberson LL, Cannon G, Palmeri H, Richards JE, Aslin RN. Using fNIRS to examine occipital and temporal responses to stimulus repetition in young infants: Evidence of selective frontal cortex involvement. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2016, 23: 26-38. PMID: 28012401, PMCID: PMC5253300, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.11.002.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRepetition suppressionPerceptual corticesAuditory repetition suppressionFrontal cortexAuditory stimuliStimulus repetitionExperiment 1Experiment 2Cortex involvementInfant brainTemporal cortexFrontal lobeAdult brainYoung infantsCortexRepetitionRecent experienceBrainFNIRSExperienceStimuliFirst evidenceSuggestive evidenceInfantsEvidenceStatistical learning: a powerful mechanism that operates by mere exposure
Aslin RN. Statistical learning: a powerful mechanism that operates by mere exposure. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science 2016, 8 PMID: 27906526, PMCID: PMC5182173, DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1373.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMere exposureStatistical learning mechanismsLittle apparent effortTransfer of learningImplicit learningSpeech syllablesLittle active involvementUnderlying temporal structurePassive listeningStatistical learningLearning mechanismHuman infantsWIREs websiteApparent effortVariety of modalitiesFurther resourcesTemporal structureLearningPowerful mechanismInstructionAslinSyllablesSaffranSpecific typesListening