Eye gaze cueing facilitates neural processing of objects in 4-month-old infants

Abstract

A major issue in developmental science is how infants use the direction of other's eye gaze to facilitate the processing of information. Four-month-old infants passively viewed images of an adult face gazing toward or away from objects. When presented with the objects a second time, infants showed differences in a slow wave event-related potential, indicating that uncued objects were perceived as less familiar than objects previously cued by the direction of gaze of another person. This result shows that the direction of eye gaze of another cannot only bias infant attention, but also lead to enhanced information processing of the objects concerned.

Theta- and alpha-band EEG activity in response to eye gaze cues in early infancy

“…This is in line with studies that relate alpha desynchronization to joint attention in infants and adults (Hoehl, Michel, et al, 2014;Lachat et al, 2012). As infants at 4 months of age are already sensitive to looker-object relations and use eye gaze for facilitated object learning (e.g., Reid et al, 2004), we expected alpha desynchronization in response to object-directed eye gaze from 4 months onwards. This expectation was partly fulfilled as alpha desynchronized more in the object-directed condition in 4-and 9-montholds, but not at 2 and 5 months of age.…”

“…Thereby it could enable or at least facilitate object learning in such situations. Similar processes might take place already at 4 months as infants differentiate between eye gazes toward and away from objects and build stronger memory representations for cued objects (Hoehl et al, 2008;Hoehl, Wahl, et al, 2014;Reid & Striano, 2005;Reid et al, 2004;Wahl et al, 2013). In the current study, eye gaze that is directed toward an object identifies it as an object that is of high relevance for the infant.…”

“…In a live paradigm measuring looking times, infants at 7 and 9 but not at 4 and 5 months of age showed enhanced object processing in a joint attention situation (Cleveland, Schug, & Striano, 2007;. Studies that presented similar stimuli on a screen found that infants were able to use social cues for object learning already at 4 months (Hoehl, Wahl, & Pauen, 2014;Reid & Striano, 2005;Reid, Striano, Kaufman, & Johnson, 2004;Wahl, Michel, Pauen, & Hoehl, 2013). These studies compared ERPs and looking times in response to objects that were previously cued by another person's eye gaze and/or head turn with objects that were not cued.…”

The development and neural basis of referential gaze perception

“…Moreover, several modifications were made from Pelphrey, Morris and McCarthy (2005). First, in our experiment, the object disappeared from the screen at the same time when the gaze shift began in order to avoid confounds from enhanced object processing due to the gaze cueing effect (Reid, Striano, Kaufman & Johnson, 2004;Schuller & Rossion, 2001). If the object had been left on after the gaze shift, object-congruent gaze would have triggered attention to the object and facilitate object processing, which would have resulted in differential ERPs between congruent and incongruent trials without necessarily requiring referential understanding.…”

Mechanisms of Cognitive Development: Domain-General Learning or Domain-Specific Constraints?

“…At present there are very few studies (Kirkham, Slemmer, & Johnson, 2002;Reid, Striano, Kaufman, & Johnson, 2004;Richards, 2005;Wu & Kirkham, in press) and no active area of concentrated research effort. The studies that do exist suggest that cued attention will not work exactly the same way in children as in adults.…”