When Does Consciousness Emerge in Babies?

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A team of researchers based in France looked for such patterns in infants. The group included cognitive neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene of the College of France and pediatrician Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. In one study, the group used caps fitted with electrodes to record fluctuations in electrical brain activity in 80 children aged five months, 12 months or 15 months.

While wearing these caps, the young participants saw faces on a screen for different lengths of time. These images were embedded in visual patterns to make them more difficult to detect.

Using this setup, the researchers documented a slow brain wave in children aged one year and older that resembled the P300 brain response of adults—although it appeared much later than in adult participants. In five-month-old infants, the wave again appeared, albeit less pronounced and even more delayed than in the older babies.

Based on this brain activity, the team concluded, infants as young as five months could have conscious visual impressions.

Read the whole story (subscription may be required): Scientific American