Baby EEG Project
How are babies emerging personalities related to their brain activity?
We are exploring emerging personalities through our Baby EEG Project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). EEG is a commonly used recording technique known as electroencephalography (EEG) and our project involves: 1) an intensive longitudinal study during infancy, aimed at discerning approach/avoidance contributions to emerging self-regulation in the toddler period (this is a collaborative study conducted with Dr. Martha Ann Bell at Virginia Tech); and 2) a longitudinal study designed to uncover infant reactivity/regulation foundations of executive functions in the preschool period, conducted with Dr. Sammy Perone at WSU. We are also beginning a new study funded by a multi-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health which will help improve our understanding of how emotions and related brain activity develop in tandem from early in infancy. We will be able to see how these changes provide the foundation for later emotional and behavioral regulation over time. From this work, we plan to inform parents about strategies they can use to strengthen this ability as it relates to academic achievement and physical and mental health across the lifespan.
We developed a questionnaire to identify early tendencies of positive and negative emotions and the ability to regulate these emotions – the building blocks of personality. With the help of hundreds of parents and their babies, and through observation of infants in our laboratory, we are able to relate this information with behavioral and emotional tendencies to the underlying brain activity.
For our Baby EEG Project, we will ask you to complete questionnaires about your baby and participate in short laboratory sessions where your baby will take part in a number of activities, including playing by him/herself and with you, while he/she has a small “swimmer-like” cap on his/her head to read the brain activity.
The commonly used recording technique known as electroencephalography (EEG) is a system that records underlying brain activity visualized as brain waves (see photo below) by placing a cap on the head with electrodes that lie on the scalp. This method is harmless and non-invasive and will help shed light on the biological foundations of personality as well as emotional and behavioral development across the first year of life.
Laboratory visits are planned so that we can observe your baby in a number of activities designed to evaluate emotions and behaviors as well as their regulation and play interactions with you as s/he develops. Not only do parents and children enjoy playing a number of these games, they also contribute to our knowledge of child development at the same time! Participation in a lab visit is expected to take about an hour and after completing these visits, you will receive at least a $15 gift card (up to $550 in gift cards for our more time-intensive, longitudinal studies).
