Links Between Parent-Child Interactions and Context-Specific EEG Asymmetry: Neurophysiology Behind A Frustrating Task

• In Event: Parenting-Temperament Transactions in Early Childhood Across Cultures

Abstract

Mother-infant interactions contribute to major areas of child development, enabling advances in social-emotional and cognitive functioning (Blair, Raver, Berry, & Family Life Project Investigators, 2014); thus, their links to child brain activity are important to understand. Frontal electroencephalograph (EEG) asymmetry has emerged as a prominent neurophysiological temperament correlate, with relative left activation reflecting approach/positive affectivity and relative right activation indicative of avoidance emotions/motivation (Coan & Allen, 2004; Davidson, 2001). However, EEG asymmetry during emotion-eliciting tasks has been underexplored, and the current study considered changes in infant frontal alpha asymmetry during a negative emotion-eliciting task relative to baseline, consistent with the capability model (Coan, Allen, & McKnight, 2006). The present study addresses an important gap in research by examining parent-child interaction factors: sensitivity/responsiveness, reciprocity/synchrony, directedness (i.e., parent or infant-directed exchanges), and tempo (i.e., pace of play, level of verbal and physical activity) and their links to task-related EEG asymmetry changes.
Mothers and 6-12-month healthy infants (e.g., no medical or birth complications) participated (N=53). Parent-child interaction (Gartstein et al., 2018) factors were coded from play observations for sensitivity/responsiveness, reciprocity/synchrony, directedness (parent vs. child-directed), and tempo, using a 7-point Likert scale. EEG was recorded at 16 left and right scalp sites during baseline (Baby Mozart video) and the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB; Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1996) Toy Retraction task, wherein the mother is instructed to remove the toy (colorful teething ring) from the infant’s reach after s/he plays with it. Power was computed for the 6 to 9 Hz frequency band (“infant and child alpha”; Bell & Fox, 1994), with asymmetry scores calculated by subtracting the natural log (ln) power at the left frontal (F3) site from ln power at the right frontal (F4) electrode, and higher values indicating relative left frontal activation (Reznik & Allen, 2018).
Simple correlations between baseline and Toy Retraction asymmetry scores, as well as parent-child interaction variables, were initially computed, followed by Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression (HMLR) analyses that enabled us to control for covariates (infant sex and age). Importantly, HMLR analyses provided an opportunity to quantify parent-child interaction contribution to Toy Retraction EEG asymmetry controlling for baseline values, consistent with the capability model (Table 1).
Although reciprocity/synchrony and directedness (parent vs. child-directed) did not account for significant amounts of Toy Retraction EEG asymmetry response variance, sensitivity/responsiveness and tempo of exchanges were each associated with significant effects, after controlling for covariates and baseline frontal EEG asymmetry. Specifically, infants of more sensitive/responsive mothers and those engaging in more fast-paced/active play exchanges with caregivers demonstrated a relative left frontal activation response during Toy Retraction, indicative of greater approach, and likely higher levels of frustration, as greater left frontal activation has been associated with anger responses when the potential reward is blocked, albeit primarily in adults (Harmon-Jones & Allen, 1998; Harmon-Jones & Gable, 2018). It may be that infants experience greater frustration in the context of an attractive toy being removed when their typical play exchanges with caregivers are marked by sensitivity to their needs and are physically/verbally engaging.

Authors

• Josh Underwood, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• Maria Amy Gartstein, Washington State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sage Baker, Washington State University
  Non-Presenting Author