Using pupil dilation, eye-blink rate, and the value of mother to investigate reward learning mechanisms in infancy.

摘要: Abstract The brain is adapted to learn from interactions with the environment that predict or enable procurement of rewards ( Schultz, 2010 ). For infants, main caregiver (often mother) most associated primary biological such as food and warmth, well likely provider emotional social comfort responsiveness. In this study we capitalize on reward value mother examine learning mechanisms in infancy using multiple eye-tracking measures. Converging lines research have demonstrated links between reward-related striatal dopamine activity measurable changes spontaneous eye-blink rate (EBR) pupil dilation (Eckstein et al., 2017). We presented 7-month-old infants video stimuli parametrically increased social-emotional (male stranger, female visual attention (static image, slowed silent cartoon, dynamic cartoon). After establishing infants’ baseline responses these stimuli, paired videos arbitrary shape cues an associative task. Infants showed superior their own mother’s a heightened anticipatory arousal response mother-associated cue following learning. Both measures were predicted by EBR video, providing first evidence transfer human infants.