EEG ACTIVATION IN 1-MONTH-OLD INFANTS OF DEPRESSED MOTHERS

Previous research has documented differences in the pattern of EEG act ivation between 3-month-old infants of depressed mothers and infants o f nondepressed mothers. In the present study: EEG was recorded in even younger 1-month-old infants of depressed and nondepressed mothers. Th e infants of depressed mothers exhibited greater relative right fronta l EEG asymmetry (due to reduced left frontal activation), and this pat tern at 1 month was significantly related to 3-month EEG asymmetry. Ri ght frontal EEG asymmetry was also related to more frequent negative f acial expressions (sad and pre-cry faces) during the Brazelton exam. F inally, the infants of depressed mothers showed more indeterminate sle ep, were less active, and cried less than infants of nondepressed moth ers.