Development and manipulation of spontaneous eye blinking in the first year: Relationships to context and positive affect

Abstract

The present study explored the development of spontaneous eye blinking (SEB) and its relationship to approach-inhibition behavior during the second half of the first year. The dopaminergic regulation of SEB in adult primates provides an empirical basis for studying blinking in infants, and dopamine's role in infant temperament provides justification for examining approach-inhibition specifically. A longitudinal design with an experimental manipulation was used to examine developmental change in the rate of SEB. Healthy, full-term infants (N = 74) were observed at 4 and 12 months. Blinking rate was observed during a quiet baseline and a randomly assigned stimulus condition. Then, approach-inhibition responses were examined as stimulus objects were presented. Experimental conditions altered blink rate at both ages, but the effects varied by age and stimulus type. At 12 months, individual differences in SEB were associated with positive affect during the approach-inhibition task. The divergent effects for the cognitive and social conditions suggest that the mechanisms regulating blink rate have distinct relationships to these behavioral domains and that these undergo changes during the first year.

Intraindividual and Interindividual Differences in Spontaneous Eye Blinking: Relationships to Working Memory Performance and Frontal EEG Asymmetry

“…Infants' SB rate varied across phases of the task as predicted. Task‐related modulation of SB rate has been observed in numerous studies of adults (Fukuda et al., ; Oh et al., ; Siegle et al., ; Tada, ), children (Caplan et al., ; Jacobsen et al., ; Pivik & Dykman, ; Roberts et al., ), and infants (Bacher, ; Bacher & Allen, ; Bacher & Smotherman, ). Changes in SB rate were expected to occur as task demands changed across phases of the WM task.…”

“…Zametkin, Stevens, and Pittman () were among the first to describe the low rate of SB in infants (2–3 blinks per min) and to document the developmental increase in SB that plateaus in young adulthood (using a cross‐sectional design). More recently, others have confirmed this very low rate of SB in infants (Bacher & Smotherman, ,b; Lavezzo, Schellini, Padovani, & Hirai, ) and employed longitudinal design to examine developmental change in SB (Bacher, ; Descroix, Charavel, Świątkowski, & Graff, ).…”

“…As demonstrated with adults, SB rate in infancy can be altered by behavior (feeding, Bacher & Smotherman, ; visual attention, Bacher & Allen, ; and social engagement, Bacher, ). Clinical work in children also illustrates changes in blinking rate during cognitive activity and group changes in rate associated with certain DA‐related clinical conditions (e.g., ADHD, Salman & Liu, ; Pivik & Dykmann, ; Caplan, Guthrie, & Komo, ; fragile x syndrome, Roberts, Symons, Johnson, Hatton, & Boccia, ).…”

“…More recently, others have confirmed this very low rate of SB in infants (Bacher & Smotherman, 2004a,b;Lavezzo, Schellini, Padovani, & Hirai, 2008) and employed longitudinal design to examine developmental change in SB (Bacher, 2013;Descroix, Charavel, Swia z tkowski, & Graff, 2015). As demonstrated with adults, SB rate in infancy can be altered by behavior (feeding, Bacher & Smotherman, 2004a;visual attention, Bacher & Allen, 2009; and social engagement, Bacher, 2013). Clinical work in children also illustrates changes in blinking rate during cognitive activity and group changes in rate associated with certain DA-related clinical conditions (e.g., ADHD, Salman & Liu, 2013;Pivik & Dykmann, 2003;Caplan, Guthrie, & Komo, 1996; fragile x syndrome, Roberts, Symons, Johnson, Hatton, & Boccia, 2005).…”

Does Parity have an Effect on Fetal Behavior? A Comparison between Primi- and Multiparas

“…9 In neonates, spontaneous eye blinking is used as a noninvasive parameter of the dopamine system function. 10 Moreover, brain functions regulate the spontaneous eye blinking rate, 11,12 and an increase in the spontaneous eye blinking rate is likely to be related to central dopamine system maturation. [13][14][15][16] In the present study, the eye blinking score of KANET in primiparas was significantly higher than that in multiparas.…”