Activation of the right fronto-temporal cortex during maternal facial recognition in young infants.
OBJECTIVE
Within the first days of life infants can already recognize their mother. This ability is based on several sensory mechanisms and increases during the first year of life, having its most crucial phase between 6 and 9 months when cortical circuits develop. The underlying cortical structures that are involved in this process are still unknown. Herein we report how the prefrontal cortices of healthy 6- to 9-month-old infants react to the sight of their mother's faces compared to that of an unknown female face.


METHODS
Concentrations of oxygenated haemoglobin [HbO2] and deoxygenated haemoglobin [HHb] were measured using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in both fronto-temporal and occipital areas on the right side during the exposure to maternal and unfamiliar faces.


RESULTS
The infants exhibited a distinct and significantly higher activation-related haemodynamic response in the right fronto-temporal cortex following exposure to the image of their mother's face, [HbO2] (0.75 micromol/L, p < 0.001), as compared to that of an unknown face (0.25 micromol/L, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Event-related haemodynamic changes, suggesting cortical activation, in response to the sight of human faces were detected in 6- to 9-month old children. The right fronto-temporal cortex appears to be involved in face recognition processes at this age.
Carlsson
Jakob
J
Neonatal Research Unit Q2:07, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Jakob.carlsson@ki.se
Lagercrantz
Hugo
H
Olson
Linus
L
Printz
Gordana
G
Bartocci
Marco
M
D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010781:Photography; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*
D006454:Hemoglobins