Physiological responses of 5-month-old infants to smiling and blank faces

Abstract

Physiological responses (i.e., EEG, heart period, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)) were monitored in 5-month-old infants during the replacement of an adult's smiling (SF) with a blank face (BF) in a face-to-face setting. Affect, while the infant looked at and away from the adult's face during both conditions, was analyzed. Infants displayed neutral and some positive affect while looking at both SF and BF. RSA was quantified continuously during both conditions. RSA increased during BF relative to SF. EEG was quantified only while the infants were looking at the adult's face during both conditions. An increase in theta over multiple scalp areas (AF3,4; F7,8; FC3; T6) was observed during BF relative to SF. The data suggest that infant attention to BF and SF reflect different psychophysiological processes that can be indexed by RSA and scalp-recorded theta.