Work

Development of the N400 in infancy

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • Infants showed an N400-like effect at 10 months of mismatched word-picture pairs. • By 12 months, the N400 effect diminished, possibly due to developmental changes. • No link was found between N400 amplitude and infants’ receptive vocabulary size. In this longitudinal EEG study, we examined the developmental trajectory of the N400 component using a word-picture mismatch-paradigm in 18 infants at 10 and 12 months of age. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded and analyzed in three consecutive time windows (400–600 ms, 600–800 ms, 800–1000 ms post-stimulus). At 10 months, a significant N400-like effect occurred (400–600 ms) but diminished by 12 months, potentially due to developmental changes or increased stimuli familiarity. No significant correlation emerged between N400 amplitude and parental reports of receptive vocabulary. These results imply that the N400 effect is present already in infancy.

Source: Brain and Language

DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105657

Authors: Linda Forssman, Agnes Vallberg

Institution: Uppsala University

Language: English

Topic: Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,170

Funders: Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, Majblommans Riksförbund