Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Institute for Learning and Brain Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Infancy. 2022 Jan;27(1):97-114. doi: 10.1111/infa.12438. Epub 2021 Oct 7.
There is an increasing interest in alpha-range rhythms in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in relation to perceptual and attentional processes. The infant mu rhythm has been extensively studied in the context of linkages between action observation and action production in infancy, but less is known about the mu rhythm in relation to cross-modal processes involving somatosensation. We investigated differences in mu responses to cued vibrotactile stimulation of the hand in two age groups of infants: From 6 to 7 months and 13 to 14 months. We were also interested in anticipatory neural responses in the alpha frequency range prior to tactile stimulation. Tactile stimulation of infants' left or right hand was preceded by an audiovisual cue signaling which hand would be stimulated. In response to the tactile stimulus, infants demonstrated significant mu desynchronization over the central areas contralateral to the hand stimulated, with higher mu peak frequency and greater contralateral mu desynchronization for older infants. Prior to the tactile stimulus, both age groups showed significant bilateral alpha desynchronization over frontocentral sites, which may be indicative of generalized anticipation of an upcoming stimulus. The findings highlight the potential of examining the sensorimotor mu rhythm in the context of infant attentional development.
人们对脑电图（EEG）中的 alpha 波段节律与感知和注意力过程的关系越来越感兴趣。婴儿的 mu 节律在婴儿时期的动作观察和动作产生之间的联系方面已经得到了广泛的研究，但关于 mu 节律与涉及躯体感觉的跨模态过程的关系知之甚少。我们研究了两组婴儿对提示性手部振动触觉刺激的 mu 反应的差异：6 至 7 个月和 13 至 14 个月。我们还对触觉刺激前 alpha 频率范围内的预期神经反应感兴趣。婴儿的左手或右手的触觉刺激之前会有一个视听提示，提示要刺激哪只手。对于触觉刺激，婴儿在受刺激手对侧的中央区域表现出明显的 mu 去同步化，年龄较大的婴儿的 mu 峰值频率更高，对侧 mu 去同步化更大。在触觉刺激之前，两个年龄组在前额中央部位都表现出明显的双侧 alpha 去同步化，这可能表明对即将到来的刺激的普遍预期。这些发现强调了在婴儿注意力发展的背景下检查感觉运动 mu 节律的潜力。
