Abstract
The infant brain shows rapid neural network development that considerably influences cognitive and behavioral abilities in later life. Reportedly, this neural development process can be indexed by estimating neural signal complexity. However, the precise developmental trajectory of brain signal complexity during infancy remains elusive. This study was conducted to ascertain the trajectory of magnetoencephalography (MEG) signal complexity from 2 months to 3 years of age in five infants using multiscale entropy (MSE), which captures signal complexity at multiple temporal scales. Analyses revealed scale-dependent developmental trajectories. Specifically, signal complexity predominantly increased from 5 to 15 months of age at higher temporal scales, whereas the complexity at lower temporal scales was constant across age, except in one infant who showed decreased complexity. Despite a small sample size limiting this study’s power, this is the first report of a longitudinal investigation of changes in brain signal complexity during early infancy and is unique in its application of MSE analysis of longitudinal MEG data during infancy. The results of this pilot study may serve to further our understanding of the longitudinal changes in the neural dynamics of the developing infant brain.
Highlights
Infancy is a period of remarkable neural development in the brain that is reflected by increasing cognitive and behavioral capacities for external circumstances or internal changes in later life (Cao et al, 2017)
The neurodevelopmental trajectory of infancy has received much attention because infancy is a critical period of brain development in which cognitive and behavioral abilities are enhanced (Cao et al, 2017) and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are predicted to develop
We found an increase in signal complexity for longer time scales, whereas the changes in complexity varied across infants for shorter time scales
Summary
Infancy is a period of remarkable neural development in the brain that is reflected by increasing cognitive and behavioral capacities for external circumstances or internal changes in later life (Cao et al, 2017). The human brain is a complex system that is characterized by its astonishing signal variability, which operates over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. This brain signal variability facilitates learning and optimal environmental adaptation to the changing demands of a dynamic environment (Faisal et al, 2008). This complexity conveys important information about neural system dynamics and their alterations (reviewed in Stam, 2005; Garrett et al, 2013; Takahashi, 2013)
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