Decreased frontal lobe complexity in left-behind children during joint attention: A fNIRS study with multivariable and multiscale sample entropy analysis

Keya DING, Hongan WANG, Chuanjiang LI, Hui LI

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human brain development is shaped by experiences, especially during preschool, the critical period for cognitive and socioemotional development. This study employed the functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy technique to explore the neural differences between left-behind children (LBC) and non-left-behind children (NLBC) on joint attention. Through collecting brain image data of 50 children (26 boys, aged 65.08 ± 6.28 months) and conducting multivariable and multiscale sample entropy (MMSE) analysis, the present study found that: (i) LBC showed lower brain complexity than NLBC in right prefrontal cortex; (ii) all participants demonstrated higher brain complexity in responding to joint attention conditions, compared to initiating joint attention ones; (iii) their brain complexity during joint attention was negatively associated with their emotional abilities. The findings advance our understanding of early brain development in LBC by providing evidence for the neural process characteristics of joint attention. Implications for early intervention to promote their brain development are also addressed. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10949-10958
JournalCerebral Cortex
Volume33
Issue number21
Early online dateSept 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Citation

Ding, K., Wang, H., Li, C., & Li, H. (2023). Decreased frontal lobe complexity in left-behind children during joint attention: A fNIRS study with multivariable and multiscale sample entropy analysis. Cerebral Cortex, 33(21), 10949-10958. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhad341

Keywords

  • Brain complexity
  • Multivariable and multiscale sample entropy
  • Left-behind children
  • Joint attention
  • Social cognition

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