Visual category representations in the infant brain

SUMMARY Visual categorization is a human core cognitive capacity 1,2 that depends on the development of visual category representations in the infant brain 3–7 . However, the exact nature of infant visual category representations and their relationship to the corresponding adult form remains unknown 8 . Our results clarify the nature of visual category representations from electroencephalography (EEG) data in 6- to 8-month-old infants and their developmental trajectory towards adult maturity in the key characteristics of temporal dynamics 2,9 , representational format 10–12 , and spectral properties 13,14 . Temporal dynamics change from slowly emerging, developing representations in infants to quickly emerging, complex representations in adults. Despite those differences, infants and adults already partly share visual category representations. The format of infants’ representations is visual features of low to intermediate complexity, whereas adults’ representations also encode high complexity features. Theta band activity contributes to visual category representations in infants, and these representations are shifted to the alpha/beta band in adults. Together, we reveal the developmental neural basis of visual categorization in humans, show how information transmission channels change in development, and demonstrate the power of advanced multivariate analysis techniques in infant EEG research for theory building in developmental cognitive science.