Functional connectivity and infant spatial working memory: a frequency band analysis.

The limited research on the functional meaning of infant EEG frequency bands has used measures of EEG power. The purpose of this study was to examine task-related changes in frontal EEG coherence measures for three infant EEG frequency bands (2-5 Hz, 6-9 Hz, 10-13 Hz) during a spatial working memory task. Eight-month-olds exhibited baseline-to-task changes in frontal EEG coherence for all infant frequency bands. Both the 2-5 Hz and the 10-13 Hz bands differentiated frontal functional connectivity during the distinct processing stages, but each band provided unique information. The 10-13 Hz band, however, was the only frequency band to distinguish frontal EEG coherence values during correct and incorrect responses. These data reveal valuable information concerning frontal functional connectivity and the functional meaning of three different infant EEG frequency bands during working memory processing.