Schedule of Events | Symposia

Earlier Maturation of Resting State Frontal Power Due to Auditory Training During Sensitive Windows in Infants

Poster Session E - Monday, March 31, 2025, 2:30 – 4:30 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Beenish Mahmood¹, April Benasich¹; ¹Rutgers University- Newark

Previous studies have shown that spontaneous electroencephalographic (sEEG) data from infants at higher risk for developmental delay show differences in spectral power composition when compared to infants who are at lower risk, and these differences correspond to later cognitive deficits. However, to date, no study has examined whether spectral power composition is impacted by early behavioral intervention. In the present study, we examine sEEG data collected from infants at 7, 9, 12 and 18 months-of-age. Three groups were included: infants in the Active Group received an interactive acoustic experience between 4-7 months of age; infants in the Passive Group were exposed to the same acoustic stimuli passively, with no interaction; and a Naïve Control Group, which consisted of age-matched infants, had no exposure to the sounds. Power Spectral Density (PSD) was calculated for each infant for alpha, beta, theta, and gamma frequency ranges and the three groups were compared across ages. Consistent with previous literature, our results showed that Frontal PSD values in the higher frequency ranges increased with age. Age comparisons showed that the groups significantly differed in their maturation trajectories. The Active and Passive groups showed earlier differences in high frequency power than the Naïve group. Additionally, these positive differences were correlated with infant performance on standardized cognitive assessments. These findings begin to characterize the crucial role that higher frequency power plays in the development of neural networks that support brain maturation and further highlights the effectiveness of early auditory intervention in enhancing later cognitive and language ability.

Topic Area: LANGUAGE: Development & aging