Infant EEG power predicts early childhood language and motor skills in a rural South African cohort

Abstract

Early neural development underlies fundamental behavioral outcomes. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), healthy development is often perturbed by compounded adversities, yet little is known about the neural mechanisms driving these trajectories. The current study explores the relationship between infant EEG power and early childhood developmental outcomes at two timepoints in the Greater Tzaneen subdistrict, Mopani district, Limpopo Province, South Africa. In a sample of 242 children, we assessed how EEG relative power at seven months related to development at 17 and 36 months. Increased left hemisphere theta band activity (4–6 Hz) predicted lower caregiver-reported language and motor skills, and increased left hemisphere beta activity (13–30 Hz) predicted reported motor skills at 17 months. Increased infant gamma power (30–48 Hz) in the left hemisphere was associated with higher observed language and gross motor skills at 36 months. Results suggest that early neural oscillations have small but consistent associations with later language and motor skills in a LMIC context.