Changes in behaviour and salivary cortisol following targeted cognitive training in typical 12-month-old infants

Article

Wass, S., Cook, Clare and Clackson, Kaili 2017. Changes in behaviour and salivary cortisol following targeted cognitive training in typical 12-month-old infants. Developmental Psychology. 53 (5), pp. 815-825. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000266
AuthorsWass, S., Cook, Clare and Clackson, Kaili
Abstract

Previous research has suggested that early development may be an optimal period to implement cognitive training interventions, particularly those relating to attention control, a basic ability that is essential for the development of other cognitive skills. In the present study, we administered gaze-contingent training (95 minutes across 2 weeks) targeted at voluntary attention control to a cohort of typical 12-month-old children (N = 24) and sham training to a control group (N = 24). We assessed training effects on (a) tasks involving non-trained aspects of attention control: visual sustained attention, habituation speed, visual recognition memory, sequence learning and reversal learning; (b) general attentiveness (on-task behaviours during testing) and (c) salivary cortisol levels. Assessments were administered immediately following the cessation of training and at a 6-week follow-up. On the immediate post-test infants showed significantly more sustained visual attention, faster habituation and improved sequence learning. Significant effects were also found for increased general attentiveness and decreased salivary cortisol. Some of these effects were still evident at the 6-week follow-up (significantly improved sequence learning and marginally improved […] sustained attention). These findings extend the emerging literature showing that attention training is possible in infancy.

KeywordsInfancy; attention; cognitive training
JournalDevelopmental Psychology
Journal citation53 (5), pp. 815-825
ISSN0012-1649
1939-0599
Year2017
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association
Accepted author manuscript
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000266
Publication dates
PrintMay 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited18 May 2017
Accepted27 Oct 2016
FunderBritish Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship
Economic and Social Research Council
Copyright information©American Psychological Association, 2017. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000266
LicenseAll rights reserved
Permalink -

https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/84vz2

Log in to edit

Download files

Accepted author manuscript
Wass Sam - Changes in behaviour and salivary cortisol following targeted cognitive.pdf

  • 202
    total views
  • 402
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Understanding allostasis: Early-life self-regulation involves both up- and down-regulation of arousal
Wass, S. V., Mirza, F. U. and Smith, C. 2024. Understanding allostasis: Early-life self-regulation involves both up- and down-regulation of arousal. Child Development. In Press. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14136
Why behaviour matters: Studying inter-brain coordination during child-caregiver interaction
Marriott Haresign, I., Phillips, E. A. M. and Wass, S. V. 2024. Why behaviour matters: Studying inter-brain coordination during child-caregiver interaction. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 67 (Art. 101384). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101384v
Outdoor learning in urban schools: Effects on 4–5 year old children's noise and physiological stress
Goldenberg, G., Atkinson, M., Dubiel, J. and Wass, S. 2024. Outdoor learning in urban schools: Effects on 4–5 year old children's noise and physiological stress. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 97 (Art. 102362). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102362
Learning to imitate facial expressions through sound
Viswanathan, N., de Klerk, C. C. J. M., Wass, S. and Goupil, L. 2024. Learning to imitate facial expressions through sound. Developmental Review. 73 (Art. 101137). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2024.101137
The neural and physiological substrates of real-world attention change across development
Perapoch Amado, M., Greenwood, E., White, J., Labendzki, P., Marriott Haresign, I., Northrop, T., Phillips, E., Viswanathan, N., Whitehorn, M., Jones, E. and Wass, S. 2024. The neural and physiological substrates of real-world attention change across development. eLife. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.92171.2
Annual Research Review: ‘There, the dance is – at the still point of the turning world’ – dynamic systems perspectives on coregulation and dysregulation during early development
Wass, S., Greenwood, E., Esposito, G., Smith, C., Necef, I. and Phillips, E. 2024. Annual Research Review: ‘There, the dance is – at the still point of the turning world’ – dynamic systems perspectives on coregulation and dysregulation during early development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 65 (4), pp. 481-507. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13960
Editorial perspective: Leaving the baby in the bathwater in neurodevelopmental research
Wass, S. and Jones, E. J. H. 2023. Editorial perspective: Leaving the baby in the bathwater in neurodevelopmental research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 64 (8), pp. 1256-1259. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13750
Sing to me, baby: Infants show neural tracking and rhythmic movements to live and dynamic maternal singing
Nguyen, T., Reisner, S., Luegner, A., Wass, S. V., Hoehl, S. and Markova, G. 2023. Sing to me, baby: Infants show neural tracking and rhythmic movements to live and dynamic maternal singing. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 64 (Art. 101313). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101313
Form-function relationship in the amplitude and frequency modulations of infant - directed speech: A predictive processing perspective
Labendzki, P., Greenwood, E., Esposito, G., White, J., Viswanathan, N., Northrop, T., Perapoch Amado, M., Lancaster, K., Goupil, L. and Wass, S. 2023. Form-function relationship in the amplitude and frequency modulations of infant - directed speech: A predictive processing perspective. Lancaster Conference on Infant & Early Child Development. Lancaster UK 21 - 25 Aug 2023
The development of the relationship between auditory and visual neural sensitivity and autonomic arousal from 6 m to 12 m
Daubney, K., Suata, Z., Marriott Haresign, I., Thomas, M., Kushnerenko, E. and Wass, S. V. 2023. The development of the relationship between auditory and visual neural sensitivity and autonomic arousal from 6 m to 12 m. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 63 (Art. 101289). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101289
The Sub-Second Dynamics of Spontaneous Mimicry: An Electromyography Study Tracking Infant Caregiver Dyads during Free Play
Viswanathan, N., Labendzki, P., Perapoch Amado, M., Ives, J., Greenwood, E., Northrop, T., de Klerk, C., Goupil, L. and Wass, S. 2022. The Sub-Second Dynamics of Spontaneous Mimicry: An Electromyography Study Tracking Infant Caregiver Dyads during Free Play. XXIII ICIS 2022 Developmental Cascades. Ottawa, Canada 07 - 10 Jul 2022
Assessing the Efficacy of Open-Source Solutions to Automated Facial Coding: A Methods-Comparison Study with EMG
Viswanathan, N., Labendzki, P., Perapoch Amado, M., Ives, J., Greenwood, E., Northrop, T., de Klerk, C., Goupil, L. and Wass, S. 2022. Assessing the Efficacy of Open-Source Solutions to Automated Facial Coding: A Methods-Comparison Study with EMG. Face2face: advancing the science of social interaction. 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG 04 Apr - 05 Aug 2022
DEEP: A dual EEG pipeline for developmental hyperscanning studies
Kayhan, E., Matthes, D., Marriott Haresign, I., Bánki, A., Michel, C., Langeloh, M, Wass, S. and Hoehl, S. 2022. DEEP: A dual EEG pipeline for developmental hyperscanning studies. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 54 (Art. 101104). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101104
Oscillatory entrainment to our early social or physical environment and the emergence of volitional control
Wass, S., Perapoch Amado, M. and Ives, J. 2022. Oscillatory entrainment to our early social or physical environment and the emergence of volitional control. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 54 (Art. 101102). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101102
Multimodal hyperscanning reveals that synchrony of body and mind are distinct in mother-child dyads
Reindl, V., Wass, S., Leong, V., Scharke, W., Wistuba, S., Wirth, C. L., Konrad, K. and Gerloff, C. 2022. Multimodal hyperscanning reveals that synchrony of body and mind are distinct in mother-child dyads. NeuroImage. 251 (Art. 118982). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118982
Infant Effortful Control Mediates Relations Between Nondirective Parenting and Internalising-Related Child Behaviours in an Autism-Enriched Infant Cohort
Smith, C. G., Jones, E. J. H., Wass, S., Pasco, G., Johnson, M. H., Charman, T., Wan, M. W. and The BASIS Team 2022. Infant Effortful Control Mediates Relations Between Nondirective Parenting and Internalising-Related Child Behaviours in an Autism-Enriched Infant Cohort. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 52, p. 3496–3511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05219-x
Automatic classification of ICA components from infant EEG using MARA
Marriott Haresign, I., Phillips, E., Whitehorn, M., Noreika, V., Jones, E. J. H., Leong, V. and Wass, S. 2021. Automatic classification of ICA components from infant EEG using MARA. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 52 (Art. 101024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.101024
The origins of effortful control: How early development within arousal/regulatory systems influences attentional and affective control
Wass, S. 2021. The origins of effortful control: How early development within arousal/regulatory systems influences attentional and affective control. Developmental Review. 61 (Art. 100978). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2021.100978
What is the Difference between 'Good' and 'Bad' Stress? Understanding Possible Effects of Socio-economic Status on Learning, 2016-2018
Wass, S. 2021. What is the Difference between 'Good' and 'Bad' Stress? Understanding Possible Effects of Socio-economic Status on Learning, 2016-2018. UK Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-854793
Very preterm infants engage in an intervention to train their control of attention: results from the feasibility study of the Attention Control Training (ACT) randomised trial
Perra, O., Wass, S., McNulty, A, Sweet, D., Papageorgiou, K. A., Johnston, M., Bilello, D., Patterson, A. and Alderdice, F. 2021. Very preterm infants engage in an intervention to train their control of attention: results from the feasibility study of the Attention Control Training (ACT) randomised trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 7 (Art. 66). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-021-00809-z
In Infancy, It’s the Extremes of Arousal That Are ‘Sticky’: Naturalistic Data Challenge Purely Homeostatic Approaches to Studying Self-Regulation
Wass, S., Smith, C. G., Clackson, K. and Mirza, F. U. 2020. In Infancy, It’s the Extremes of Arousal That Are ‘Sticky’: Naturalistic Data Challenge Purely Homeostatic Approaches to Studying Self-Regulation. Developmental Science. 24 (Art. e13059). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13059
Toward the Understanding of Topographical and Spectral Signatures of Infant Movement Artifacts in Naturalistic EEG
Georgieva, S., Lester, S., Noreika, V., Yilmaz, M. N., Wass, S. and Leong, V. 2020. Toward the Understanding of Topographical and Spectral Signatures of Infant Movement Artifacts in Naturalistic EEG. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 14 (Art. 352). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00352
Interpersonal Neural Entrainment during Early Social Interaction
Wass, S., Whitehorn, M., Marriott Haresign, I., Phillips, E. and Leong, V. 2020. Interpersonal Neural Entrainment during Early Social Interaction. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 24 (4), pp. 329-342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.01.006
Training attention control of very preterm infants: protocol for a feasibility study of the Attention Control Training (ACT)
Perra, O., Wass, S., McNulty, A., Sweet, D., Papageorgiou, K., Johnston, M., Patterson, A., Bilello, D. and Alderdice, F. 2020. Training attention control of very preterm infants: protocol for a feasibility study of the Attention Control Training (ACT). Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 6, p. Art. 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-020-0556-9
Research Review: Do parent ratings of infant negative emotionality and self‐regulation predict psychopathology in childhood and adolescence? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective longitudinal studies
Kostyrka-Allchorne, K., Wass, S. and Sonuga‐Barke, E. J. S. 2019. Research Review: Do parent ratings of infant negative emotionality and self‐regulation predict psychopathology in childhood and adolescence? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective longitudinal studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 61 (4), pp. 401-416. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13144
Do helpful mothers help? Effects of maternal scaffolding and infant motivation on cognitive performance
Clackson, K., Wass, S., Georgieva, S., Brightman, L., Nutbrown, R., Almond, H., Bieluczyk, J., Carro, G., Rigby Dames, B. and Leong, V. 2019. Do helpful mothers help? Effects of maternal scaffolding and infant motivation on cognitive performance. Frontiers in Psychology. 10 (Art. 2661). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02661
14 challenges for conducting social neuroscience and longitudinal EEG research with infants
Noreika, V., Georgieva, S., Wass, S. and Leong, V. 2019. 14 challenges for conducting social neuroscience and longitudinal EEG research with infants. Infant Behavior and Development. 58 (Art. 101393). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101393
Emotional valence modulates the topology of the parent-infant inter-brain network
Santamaria, L., Noreika, V., Georgieva, S., Clackson, K., Wass, S. and Leong, V. 2019. Emotional valence modulates the topology of the parent-infant inter-brain network. NeuroImage. 207 (Art. 116341). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116341
A psychophysiological investigation of the interplay between orienting and executive control during stimulus conflict: A heart rate variability study
Sørensen, L., Wass, S., Osnes, B., Schanche, E., Adolfsdottir, S., Svendsen, J. L., Visted, E., Eilertsen, T., Jensen, D. A., Nordby, H., Fasmer, O. B., Binder, P. E., Koenig, J. and Sonuga-Barke, E. 2019. A psychophysiological investigation of the interplay between orienting and executive control during stimulus conflict: A heart rate variability study. Physiology & Behavior. 211 (Art. 112657). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112657
Influences of environmental stressors on autonomic function in 12-month-old infants: understanding early common pathways to atypical emotion regulation and cognitive performance
Wass, S., Smith, C. G., Daubney, K., Suata, Z. M., Clackson, K., Begum, A. and Mizra, F. U. 2019. Influences of environmental stressors on autonomic function in 12-month-old infants: understanding early common pathways to atypical emotion regulation and cognitive performance. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 60 (12), pp. 1323-1333. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13084
Parents mimic and influence their infant’s autonomic state through dynamic affective state matching
Wass, S., Smith, C. G., Clackson, K., Gibb, C., Eitzenberger, J. and Mirza, F. U. 2019. Parents mimic and influence their infant’s autonomic state through dynamic affective state matching. Current Biology. 24 (14), pp. 2415-2422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.016
Shorter spontaneous fixation durations in infants with later emerging autism
Wass, S., Jones, Emily J. H., Gliga, Teodora, Smith, Tim J., Charman, Tony and Johnson, Mark H. 2015. Shorter spontaneous fixation durations in infants with later emerging autism. Scientific Reports. 5 (1), p. Art. 8284. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08284
Impaired Visual Search in Children with Rett Syndrome
Rose, Susan A., Wass, S., Jankowski, Jeffery J., Feldman, Judith F. and Djukic, Aleksandra 2018. Impaired Visual Search in Children with Rett Syndrome. Pediatric Neurology. 92, pp. 26-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2018.10.002
Parental neural responsivity to infants’ visual attention: how mature brains influence immature brains during social interaction
Wass, S., Noreika, V., Georgieva, S., Clackson, K., Brightman, L., Nutbrown, R., Santamaria, L. and Leong, V. 2018. Parental neural responsivity to infants’ visual attention: how mature brains influence immature brains during social interaction. PLoS Biology. 16 (2), p. e2006328. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2006328
Attentional Shifting and Disengagement in Rett Syndrome
Rose, Susan A., Wass, S., Jankowski, Jeffery J., Feldman, Judith F. and Djukic, Aleksandra 2019. Attentional Shifting and Disengagement in Rett Syndrome. Neuropsychology. 33 (3), pp. 335-342. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000515
Speaker Gaze Increases Information Coupling Between Infant and Adult Brains
Leong, Victoria, Byrne, Elizabeth, Clackson, Kaili, Georgieva, Stanimira, Lam, Sarah and Wass, S. 2017. Speaker Gaze Increases Information Coupling Between Infant and Adult Brains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (50), pp. 13290-13295. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702493114
Toward a Neuroscientific Understanding of Play: A Dimensional Coding Framework for Analyzing Infant–Adult Play Patterns
Neale, Dave, Clackson, Kaili, Georgieva, Stanimira, Dedetas, Hatice, Scarpate, Melissa, Wass, S. and Leong, Victoria 2018. Toward a Neuroscientific Understanding of Play: A Dimensional Coding Framework for Analyzing Infant–Adult Play Patterns. Frontiers in Psychology. 9, p. Art. 273. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00273
New meanings of thin-skinned: The contrasting attentional profiles of typical 12-month-olds who show high, and low, stress reactivity.
Wass, S., de Barbaro, Kaya, Clackson, Kaili and Leong, Victoria 2018. New meanings of thin-skinned: The contrasting attentional profiles of typical 12-month-olds who show high, and low, stress reactivity. Developmental Psychology. 54 (5), pp. 816-828. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000428
Increases in Arousal are More Long-Lasting than Decreases in Arousal: On Homeostatic Failures During Emotion Regulation in Infancy
Wass, S., Clackson, Kaili and Leong, Vicky 2018. Increases in Arousal are More Long-Lasting than Decreases in Arousal: On Homeostatic Failures During Emotion Regulation in Infancy. Infancy. 23 (5), pp. 628-649. https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12243
How orchids concentrate? The relationship between physiological stress reactivity and cognitive performance during infancy and early childhood
Wass, S. 2018. How orchids concentrate? The relationship between physiological stress reactivity and cognitive performance during infancy and early childhood. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 90, pp. 34-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.029
Infants' visual sustained attention is higher during joint play than solo play: is this due to increased endogenous attention control or exogenous stimulus capture?
Wass, S., Clackson, Kaili, Georgieva, Stanimira D, Brightman, Laura, Nutbrown, Rebecca and Leong, Victoria 2018. Infants' visual sustained attention is higher during joint play than solo play: is this due to increased endogenous attention control or exogenous stimulus capture? Developmental Science. 21 (6), p. e12667. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12667
Blending Human and Artificial Intelligence to Support Autistic Children’s Social Communication Skills
Porayska-Pomsta, Kaśka, Keay-Bright, Wendy, Kossyvaki, Lila, Lemon, Oliver, Mademtzi, Marilena, Menzies, Rachel, Pain, Helen, Rajendran, Gnanathusharan, Waller, Annalu, Wass, S., Smith, Tim J., Alcorn, Alyssa M., Avramides, Katerina, Beale, Sandra, Bernardini, Sara, Foster, Mary Ellen, Frauenberger, Christopher, Good, Judith and Guldberg, Karen 2018. Blending Human and Artificial Intelligence to Support Autistic Children’s Social Communication Skills. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 25 (6), p. Art. 35. https://doi.org/10.1145/3271484
Elevated physiological arousal is associated with larger but more variable neural responses to small acoustic change in children during a passive auditory attention task
Wass, S., Daubney, K., Golan, J., Logan, F. and Kushnerenko, E. 2018. Elevated physiological arousal is associated with larger but more variable neural responses to small acoustic change in children during a passive auditory attention task. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 37 (Art. 100612). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2018.12.010
Erratum to: Attention training for infants at familial risk of ADHD (INTERSTAARS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Goodwin, Amy, Salomone, Simona, Bolton, Patrick, Charman, Tony, Jones, Emily J.H., Mason, Luke, Pickles, Andrew, Robinson, Emily, Smith, Tim, Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S., Wass, S. and Johnson, Mark H. 2017. Erratum to: Attention training for infants at familial risk of ADHD (INTERSTAARS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 18 (1), p. 419. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-2167-1
Sustained Attention in the Face of Distractors: A Study of Children with Rett Syndrome
Rose, Susan A., Wass, S., Jankowski, James J., Feldman, Judith F. and Djukic, Aleksandra 2017. Sustained Attention in the Face of Distractors: A Study of Children with Rett Syndrome. Neuropsychology. 31 (4), pp. 403-410. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000369
Stress reactivity speeds basic encoding processes in infants
de Barbaro, Kaya, Clackson, Kaili and Wass, S. 2016. Stress reactivity speeds basic encoding processes in infants. Developmental Psychobiology. 58 (5), pp. 546-555. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21399
Temporal dynamics of arousal and attention in 12-month-old infants
Wass, S., Clackson, K. and de Barbaro, K. 2016. Temporal dynamics of arousal and attention in 12-month-old infants. Developmental Psychobiology. 58 (5), pp. 623-639. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21406
Attention training for infants at familial risk of ADHD (INTERSTAARS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Goodwin, Amy, Salomone, Simona, Bolton, Patrick, Charman, Tony, Jones, Emily J. H., Pickles, Andrew, Robinson, Emily, Smith, Tim, Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S., Wass, S. and Johnson, Mark H. 2016. Attention training for infants at familial risk of ADHD (INTERSTAARS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 17 (1), p. 608. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-016-1727-0
Training Basic Visual Attention Leads to Changes in Responsiveness to Social‐Communicative Cues in 9‐Month‐Olds
Forssman, Linda and Wass, S. 2017. Training Basic Visual Attention Leads to Changes in Responsiveness to Social‐Communicative Cues in 9‐Month‐Olds. Child Development. 89 (3), pp. e199-e213. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12812
Developmental Psychology: How Social Context Influences Infants’ Attention
Wass, S. and Leong, Victoria 2016. Developmental Psychology: How Social Context Influences Infants’ Attention. Current Biology. 26 (9), pp. R357-R359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.051
Infant Attention Is Dynamically Modulated With Changing Arousal Levels
de Barbaro, Kaya, Clackson, Kaili and Wass, S. 2016. Infant Attention Is Dynamically Modulated With Changing Arousal Levels. Child Development. 88 (2), pp. 629-639. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12689