Richards, J.E. (in press). Attention in the brain in early infancy. In S. Johnson (Ed.), Neoconstructivism: The new science of cognitive development. Oxford University Publishing.(PDF)
The attention system of the young infant shows rapid development. This
development has been hypothesized to be strongly influenced by changes in brain
areas controlling attention processes. This chapter reviews some infant
attention systems and shows how brain development affects the development of
infant attention. An important advance in this research is the ability of
researchers to measure brain activity with noninvasive methods in infant
participants. Activity in the infant’s brain can be measured as the infant
engages in attention, and development in brain and attention can be related. A
goal of research in this area is to show the link between measures of infant
brain development and measures of attention development.