Using a child-friendly brain imaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Oxford have identified differences in which areas of the brain are employed by infants undertaking an activity at 10 months and at 16 months old. 

A simple touch screen activity required children to use some inhibitory control skills. By 16 months, children were able to employ more areas of their brain to access more sophisticated executive functions than 10 months old children who used fewer and different areas of the brain during the activity. The researchers deduced that the period from infancy to early childhood is a crucial time in the development of different areas of the brain and the ongoing development of inhibitory control and executive function. 

Dr Fiske at the University of Oxford and Professor Karla Homboe at the University of Bristol commented that their study shows lots of changes happening in toddlers' brains which are probably crucial for the development of impulse control and executive function. Toddlerhood is therefore seen as a critical period for brain development.

---

Read more: Fiske, A. et al. (2024) The neural correlates of response inhibition across the transition from infancy to toddlerhood: An fNIRS study. Imaging Neuroscience (2):1–21.

University of Bristol (2024) Toddlers' brains show significant growth in cognitive skills by 16 months. University of Bristol News & Features, 11 July 2024. Available at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240711111448.htm <accessed 12 January, 2025>