The neural correlates of inhibitory control in 10-month-old infants: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
Abigail Fiske,
Carina de Klerk,
Katie Y.K. Lui,
Liam Collins-Jones,
Alexandra Hendry,
Isobel Greenhalgh,
Anna Hall,
Gaia Scerif,
Henrik Dvergsdal,
Karla Holmboe
Affiliations
Abigail Fiske
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.
Carina de Klerk
Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Essex, United Kingdom
Katie Y.K. Lui
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
Liam Collins-Jones
Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Alexandra Hendry
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Isobel Greenhalgh
Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Anna Hall
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Institute of Mental Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Gaia Scerif
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Henrik Dvergsdal
Nord University Business School, Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Organisation, Bodø, Norway
Karla Holmboe
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Inhibitory control, a core executive function, emerges in infancy and develops rapidly across childhood. Methodological limitations have meant that studies investigating the neural correlates underlying inhibitory control in infancy are rare. Employing functional near-infrared spectroscopy alongside a novel touchscreen task that measures response inhibition, this study aimed to uncover the neural underpinnings of inhibitory control in 10-month-old infants (N = 135). We found that when inhibition was required, the right prefrontal and parietal cortices were more activated than when there was no inhibitory demand. This demonstrates that inhibitory control in infants as young as 10 months of age is supported by similar brain areas as in older children and adults. With this study we have lowered the age-boundary for localising the neural substrates of response inhibition to the first year of life.
