Investigating event-related oscillations in infancy

Two general approaches have been taken to the electrophysiological study of infant brain function: event-related and evoked potentials (see Chapters 2–8 of this volume) and resting EEG (see Chapters 8 and 9). In this chapter, we introduce a third (intermediate) approach that we term “event-related oscillations”. Briefly, event-related oscillations (EROs) are bursts of EEG at particular frequencies that are approximately time-locked to task or stimulus presentation events. For this reason, they are taken to reflect oscillatory activity in the brain related to specific task-relevant computations. While there is a growing literature on EROs in adults, particularly with respect to highfrequency (gamma-band) bursts, the approach has only just begun to be applied to infants. In the first section of this chapter we initially describe (1) how EROs can be analysed from raw EEG data, (2) the potential pitfalls and sources of artefact with EROs, and (3) issues of experimental design. Following this, we review evidence from two areas where we have adopted the ERO approach to study infants’ perception and processing of objects. Finally, we discuss potential future avenues for research on infant cognition with EROs.