Brain networks underlying attention are present even during infancy and are critical for the developing ability of children to control their emotions and thoughts. For adults, individual differences in the efficiency of attentional networks have been related to neuromodulators and to genetic variations. We have examined the development of attentional networks and child temperament in a longitudinal study from infancy (7 months) to middle childhood (7 years). Early temperamental differences among infants, including smiling and laughter and vocal reactivity, are related to self-regulation abilities at 7 years. However, genetic variations related to adult executive attention, while present in childhood, are poor predictors of later control, in part because individual genetic variation may have many small effects and in part because their influence occurs in interaction with caregiver behavior and other environmental influences. While brain areas involved in attention are present during infancy, their connectivity changes and leads to improvement in control of behavior. It is also possible to influence control mechanisms through training later in life. The relation between maturation and learning may allow advances in our understanding of human brain development. 1. Introduction Few life changes are as dramatic as the development that occurs between infancy and elementary school, with locomotion, language, and voluntary control as the most obvious behavior changes. We also know that the brain changes in size, connectivity, and synaptic density during this period. What is least explored is exactly how these brain changes support behavioral change. Our research traces the development of attention networks that support the mechanisms of self-regulation, allowing children to control their emotions and behavior. In this paper, we first outline the connection between attention and self-regulation. In the next section, we examine measurement of individual differences in attention in adults. The heart of the paper summarizes the relation of early temperament (7 months) to later temperament and attention (age: 7 years). We show how changes in mechanisms of control over this period relate to genes and to the environment provided by the caregiver. Finally, we examine training studies that influence some of the same brain connections that change during development. During infancy, the caregiver provides much of the child’s regulation. Soothing by holding and rocking or by orienting of attention is a common practice for control of distress. Holding supports the child’s
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