Frequency tagging with infants: The visual oddball paradigm

Combining frequency tagging with electroencephalography (EEG) provides excellent opportunities for developmental research and is increasingly employed as a powerful tool in cognitive neuroscience within the last decade. In particular, the visual oddball paradigm has been employed to elucidate face and object categorization and intermodal influences on visual perception. Still, EEG research with infants poses special challenges that require consideration and adaptations of analyses. These challenges include limits to attentional capacity, variation in looking times, and presence of artefacts in the EEG signal. Moreover, potential differences between age-groups must be carefully evaluated. This manuscript evaluates challenges theoretically and empirically by (1) a systematic review of frequency tagging studies employing the oddball paradigm and (2) combining and re-analyzing data from seven-month-old infants (N = 124, 59 females) collected in a categorization task with artifical, unfamiliar stimuli. Specifically, different criteria for sequence retention and selection of harmonics, the influence of bins considered for baseline correction and the relation between fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) responses and looking time are analyzed. Overall, evidence indicates that analysis decisions should be tailored based on age-group to optimally capture the observed signal. Recommendations for infant frequency tagging studies are developed to aid researchers in selecting appropriate stimulation and analysis strategies in future work.

Automated summary

Combining frequency tagging with EEG has been increasingly used as a powerful tool in developmental research and cognitive neuroscience. However, EEG research with infants faces challenges such as attentional capacity limits, variation in looking times, and presence of artefacts in the EEG signal. This manuscript systematically reviews frequency tagging studies and re-analyzes data from seven-month-old infants, providing recommendations for appropriate stimulation and analysis strategies for infant frequency tagging studies in the future.