The promise of awake behaving infant fMRI as a deep measure of cognition. (August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yates, Tristan S; Ellis, Cameron T; Turk-Browne, Nicholas B
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in behavioral sciences. Volume 40(2021)
• Page Start: 5
• Page End: 11
• Publication Date: 2021-08
• Subjects: Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.11.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-1546

Abstract

Highlights: Ambiguity in infant behavior may hinder our understanding of the infant mind. fMRI can tap into internal representations that are difficult to access. Awake infant fMRI provides a rich method for interpreting early cognition. Abstract : What are the contents of the infant mind? In the last decade, computational advances in fMRI have allowed researchers access to the internal representations of adults. Applied similarly in infants, fMRI stands to revolutionize our understanding of cognitive development. By measuring representations at their source, infant fMRI overcomes some of the limitations of behavioral measures. We discuss example domains where this approach could be fruitful, including episodic memory, semantic cognition, spatial representations, and theory of mind. In these and other areas, the richness of fMRI data could give new insight into how infants represent the world and potentially help resolve ongoing debates in developmental science.