Electrophysiological Methods in Studying Infant Cognitive Development

Abstract

The measurement of the electroencephalogram (EEG) provides a rich source of information about the neural mechanisms underlying ongoing cognitive events. Various ways of analysing the neural markers recorded non-invasively from the scalp have been successfully applied to study developmental populations. The goal of this chapter is to give an introduction and to provide an overview of how electrophysiological methods can be used to elucidate brain and cognitive development in infancy. To this end, we begin by briefly describing the physiological basis of the EEG, and then review the components observed in event-related potentials (ERPs) to auditory, visual, multimodal stimuli and saccades. We also discuss recent work investigating event-related oscillations (EROs) and its role in cognitive development. We conclude by reflecting upon the future directions of the field.