The Cardiac Response as a Correlate of Attention in Infants

Sixty-four 24-week-old infants were employed to demonstrate that cardiac deceleration accompanies attention, as well as to demonstrate that the length of time the infant fixates on the array is directly related to the degree of deceleration. Each infant received a 30-second stimulus period consisting of a flashing-light pattern, followed by 30 seconds of rest until 12 stimulus trials were accrued. Total fixation time and cardiac rate were recorded for Ss and reveal that a monophasic response of deceleration typically accompanied orientation. The degree of deceleration was directly related to the amount of time S fixated on the visual array.