Information processing efficiency and regulation at five months

Infants with short look durations are generally thought to have better attentional capabilities due to their efficient information processing. Although effortful attention is considered a key component of developing regulatory abilities, little is known about the relation between speed and efficiency of processing and self-regulation. In this study, 5-month-old infants with shorter look duration had greater EEG power values than infants with longer look duration during baseline, as well as during a distressing task and a post-distress attentional processing task. These short looking infants also demonstrated higher heart rate, relative to long looking infants, during post-distress information processing. Behaviorally the two groups differed in the amount of distraction during distress. These data provide evidence for an association between the efficiency of information processing and beginning regulatory abilities in early infancy.

Research highlights▶ At 5-months, SL had greater EEG power than LL across multiple EEG scalp locations during baseline. ▶ SL had greater EEG power values than LL during distress and post-distress tasks when controlling for baseline. ▶ LL had lower HR than SL during the post-distress attention task. ▶ SL distracted themselves more during distress than LL.