Brain complexity: baby brains under study (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, April 20, 2020, 23:28 (1468 days ago) @ David Turell

We disagree about the blank slate concept of baby brains. My view is they are a blank slate befor any new experience, but have an inherited background of tendencies for types of personality development. dhw's view was much more strict, noting that if the brain arrived with tendencies, it couldn't be called blank. A lot of semantic nothingness debate. This study is very long term, from infancy into the mid-twenties. Tendencies are present and predictive:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-infant-temperament-personality-years.html

"Temperament refers to biologically based individual differences in the way people emotionally and behaviorally respond to the world. During infancy, temperament serves as the foundation of later personality. One specific type of temperament, called behavioral inhibition (BI), is characterized by cautious, fearful, and avoidant behavior toward unfamiliar people, objects, and situations. BI has been found to be relatively stable across toddlerhood and childhood, and children with BI have been found to be at greater risk for developing social withdrawal and anxiety disorders than children without BI.

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"The researchers assessed the infants for BI at 14 months of age. At age 15, these participants returned to the lab to provide neurophysiological data. These neurophysiological measures were used to assess error-related negativity (ERN), which is a negative dip in the electrical signal recorded from the brain that occurs following incorrect responses on computerized tasks. Error-related negativity reflects the degree to which people are sensitive to errors. A larger error-related negativity signal has been associated with internalizing conditions such as anxiety, and a smaller error-related negativity has been associated with externalizing conditions such as impulsivity and substance use. The participants returned at age 26 for assessments of psychopathology, personality, social functioning, and education and employment outcomes.

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"The researchers found that BI at 14 months of age predicted, at age 26, a more reserved personality, fewer romantic relationships in the past 10 years, and lower social functioning with friends and family. BI at 14 months also predicted higher levels of internalizing psychopathology in adulthood, but only for those who also displayed larger error-related negativity signals at age 15. BI was not associated with externalizing general psychopathology or with education and employment outcomes.

"This study highlights the enduring nature of early temperament on adult outcomes and suggests that neurophysiological markers such as error-related negativity may help identify individuals most at risk for developing internalizing psychopathology in adulthood.

"'We have studied the biology of behavioral inhibition over time and it is clear that it has a profound effect influencing developmental outcome," concluded Dr. Fox."

Comment: A clear cut result.