A decade of infant neuroimaging research: What have we learned and where are we going?

Publication date: February 2020Source: Infant Behavior and Development, Volume 58Author(s): Atiqah Azhari, Anna Truzzi, Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh, Jan Paolo M. Balagtas, HuiAnn Hannah Tan, PeiLin Pamela Goh, XinHui Anais Ang, Peipei Setoh, Paola Rigo, Marc H. Bornstein, Gianluca EspositoAbstractThe past decade has seen the emergence of neuroimaging studies of infant populations. Incorporating imaging has resulted in invaluable insights about neurodevelopment at the start of life. However, little has been enquired of the experimental specifications and study characteristics of typical findings. This review systematically screened empirical studies that used electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on infants (max. age of 24 months). From more than 21,000 publications, a total of 710 records were included for analyses. With the exception of EEG studies, infant studies with MEG, fNIRS, and fMRI were most often conducted around birth and at 12 months. The vast majority of infant studies came from North America, with very few studies conducted in Africa, certain parts of South America, and Southeast Asia. Finally, longitudinal neuroimaging studies were inclined to adopt EEG, followed by fMRI, fNIRS, and MEG. These results show that there is compelling need for studies with larger sample sizes, studies investigating a broader range of infant developmental periods, and stud...
Source: Infant Behavior and Development - Category: Child Development Source Type: research