One, Two, Three, Eyes on Me: Infant EEG Power Predicts Toddler Executive Functioning Through Infant Attention

This study investigated the associations between infant frontal EEG power (5 month), infant visual attention (10 month), and toddler executive functioning (EF; 24 month), extending previous research predominantly conducted with school‐aged children. Data were collected from 410 typically developing children (51% female; 78% White, non‐Hispanic) from the southeastern United States in 2003–2009. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a one‐factor model of EF in toddlerhood provided the best fit to the data, which replicates work with preschool samples. Structural equation modeling showed that infant visual attention mediated the association between infant EEG and toddler EF. These findings underscore the importance of early neural and attentional markers in shaping EF and offer novel insights that can inform early intervention.