Talking Brains: Neonatal Aperiodic Activity in Resting State EEG Relates to Later Communicative Abilities

Neonatal resting-state EEG aperiodic exponent shows an inverted U-shaped relationship with 12-month communicative abilities in typically developing infants (n = 50), with intermediate values linked to better outcomes.

• Why it matters: Prior language-development markers emphasize oscillations, but aperiodic activity may better reflect early cortical maturation and help predict individual differences in communication.
• What they did: Resting-state EEG recorded two weeks after birth was decomposed with the FOOOF algorithm to extract aperiodic offset and exponent; CSBS-DP Infant-Toddler Checklist parent reports were collected at 12 months.
• The result: Quadratic regression indicated both lower and higher neonatal exponent values were associated with poorer communicative abilities, while no robust offset association emerged, supporting aperiodic exponent as a developmental marker.

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