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Xiao NG, Ghersin H, Dombrowski ND, Boldin AM, Emberson LL. Infants' top-down perceptual modulation is specific to own-race faces. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 242:105889. [PMID: 38442685 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed the influence of higher-level cognitive systems in modulating perceptual processing (top-down perceptual modulation) in infancy. However, more research is needed to understand how top-down processes in infant perception contribute to early perceptual development. To this end, this study examined infants' top-down perception of own- and other-race faces to reveal whether top-down modulation is linked to the emergence of perceptual specialization. Infants first learned an association between a sound and faces, with the race of the faces manipulated between groups (own race vs. other race). We then tested infants' face perception across various levels of perceptual difficulty (manipulated by presentation duration) and indexed top-down perception by the change in perception when infants heard the sound previously associated with the face (predictive sound) versus an irrelevant sound. Infants exhibited top-down face perception for own-race faces (Experiment 1). However, we present new evidence that infants did not show evidence of top-down modulation for other-race faces (Experiment 2), suggesting an experience-based specificity of this capacity with more effective top-down modulation in familiar perceptual contexts. In addition, we ruled out the possibility that this face race effect was due to differences in infants' associative learning of the sound and faces between the two groups. This work has important implications for understanding the mechanisms supporting perceptual development and how they relate to top-down perception in infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naiqi G Xiao
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
| | - Hila Ghersin
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | | | - Alexandra M Boldin
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Lauren L Emberson
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
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2
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Hennessey EMP, Swales DA, Markant J, Hoffman MC, Hankin BL, Davis EP. Maternal anxiety during pregnancy predicts infant attention to affective faces. J Affect Disord 2024; 344:104-114. [PMID: 37802320 PMCID: PMC10841611 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal maternal anxiety is a known influence on offspring development. General anxiety and pregnancy-related anxiety (a distinct type of anxiety encompassing fears associated with pregnancy) are associated with offspring socioemotional development, with potential consequences for later emotional and behavioral problems. This study examines whether maternal pregnancy-related and general anxiety relate to infant attention to affective faces, a process which plays an integral role in early socioemotional development. METHODS Participants included 86 mothers and their 6-month-old infants (56.3 % female). Mothers completed measures of pregnancy-related and general anxiety three times through gestation. Infants' attention to affective faces was assessed with an eye-tracking task during which a series of face pairs were presented (happy, angry, or sad face paired with a neutral face). Overall attention measures included attention-holding (total looking time) and attention-orienting (latency to faces); affect-biased attention measures included proportion of total looking time to emotional faces and latency difference score. RESULTS Higher maternal pregnancy-related anxiety across gestation predicted decreased infant attention-holding to affective faces [F(1,80) = 7.232, p = .009, partial η2 = 0.083]. No differences were found in infant attention-orienting or affect-biased attention. LIMITATIONS Reliance on a correlational study design precludes the ability to make causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS Maternal pregnancy-related anxiety is an important predictor of child outcomes. We provide novel evidence that pregnancy-related anxiety predicts infant attention to emotional faces, behaviors which have important implications for socioemotional development. Providers may consider pregnancy-related anxiety as a target for screening and treatment that may benefit both pregnant individual and offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Danielle A Swales
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Julie Markant
- Department of Psychology & Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - M Camille Hoffman
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal and Fetal Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Benjamin L Hankin
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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3
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Swales DA, Markant J, Hennessey EMP, Glueck DH, Hankin BL, Davis EP. Infant negative affectivity and patterns of affect-biased attention. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22380. [PMID: 36946685 PMCID: PMC10518220 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Biased attention toward affective cues often cooccurs with the emergence and maintenance of internalizing disorders. However, few studies have assessed whether affect-biased attention in infancy relates to early indicators of psychopathological risk, such as negative affectivity. The current study evaluates whether negative affectivity relates to affect-biased attention in 6-month-old infants. Affect-biased attention was assessed via a free-viewing eye-tracking task in which infants were presented with a series of face pairs (comprised of a happy, angry, or sad face and a neutral face). Attention was quantified with metrics of both attention orienting and attention holding. Overall, infants showed no differences in attention orienting (i.e., speed of looking) or attention holding (i.e., duration of looking) toward emotional faces in comparison to the neutral face pairs. Negative affectivity, assessed via parent report, did not relate to attention orienting but was associated with biased attention toward positive, happy faces and away from threat-cueing, angry faces in comparison to the neutral faces they were paired with. These findings suggest that negative affectivity is associated with differences in attention holding, but not initial orienting toward emotional faces; biases which have important implications for the trajectory of socioemotional development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle A. Swales
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Julie Markant
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | | | - Deborah H. Glueck
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Benjamin L. Hankin
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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4
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Farrell J, Conte S, Barry-Anwar R, Scott LS. Face race and sex impact visual fixation strategies for upright and inverted faces in 3- to 6-year-old children. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22362. [PMID: 36811376 PMCID: PMC10928691 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Everyday face experience tends to be biased, such that infants and young children interact more often with own-race and female faces leading to differential processing of faces within these groups relative to others. In the present study, visual fixation strategies were recorded using eye tracking to determine the extent to which face race and sex/gender impact a key index of face processing in 3- to 6-year-old children (n = 47). Children viewed male and female upright and inverted White and Asian faces while visual fixations were recorded. Face orientation was found to have robust effects on children's visual fixations, such that children exhibited shorter first fixation and average fixation durations and a greater number of fixations for inverted compared to upright face trials. First fixations to the eye region were also greater for upright compared to inverted faces. Fewer fixations and longer duration fixations were found for trials with male compared to female faces and for upright compared to inverted unfamiliar-race faces, but not familiar-race faces. These findings demonstrate evidence of differential fixation strategies toward different types of faces in 3- to 6-year-old children, illustrating the importance of experience in the development of visual attention to faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Farrell
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Stefania Conte
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Ryan Barry-Anwar
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Lisa S. Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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5
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Bosten JM, Coen-Cagli R, Franklin A, Solomon SG, Webster MA. Calibrating Vision: Concepts and Questions. Vision Res 2022; 201:108131. [PMID: 37139435 PMCID: PMC10151026 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2022.108131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The idea that visual coding and perception are shaped by experience and adjust to changes in the environment or the observer is universally recognized as a cornerstone of visual processing, yet the functions and processes mediating these calibrations remain in many ways poorly understood. In this article we review a number of facets and issues surrounding the general notion of calibration, with a focus on plasticity within the encoding and representational stages of visual processing. These include how many types of calibrations there are - and how we decide; how plasticity for encoding is intertwined with other principles of sensory coding; how it is instantiated at the level of the dynamic networks mediating vision; how it varies with development or between individuals; and the factors that may limit the form or degree of the adjustments. Our goal is to give a small glimpse of an enormous and fundamental dimension of vision, and to point to some of the unresolved questions in our understanding of how and why ongoing calibrations are a pervasive and essential element of vision.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ruben Coen-Cagli
- Department of Systems Computational Biology, and Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, and Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY
| | | | - Samuel G Solomon
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, UK
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6
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Clerc O, Fort M, Schwarzer G, Krasotkina A, Vilain A, Méary D, Lœvenbruck H, Pascalis O. Can language modulate perceptual narrowing for faces? Other-race face recognition in infants is modulated by language experience. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/01650254211053054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Between 6 and 9 months, while infant’s ability to discriminate faces within their own racial group is maintained, discrimination of faces within other-race groups declines to a point where 9-month-old infants fail to discriminate other-race faces. Such face perception narrowing can be overcome in various ways at 9 or 12 months of age, such as presenting faces with emotional expressions. Can language itself modulate face narrowing? Many adult studies suggest that language has an impact on the recognition of individuals. For example, adults remember faces previously paired with their native language more accurately than faces paired with a non-native language. We have previously found that from 9 months of age, own-race faces associated with the native language can be learned and recognized whereas own-race faces associated with a non-native language cannot. Based on the language familiarity effect, we hypothesized that the native language could restore recognition of other-race faces after perceptual narrowing has happened. We tested 9- and 12-month-old Caucasian infants. During a familiarization phase, infants were shown still photographs of an Asian face while audio was played either in the native or in the non-native language. Immediately after the familiarization, the familiar face and a novel one were displayed side-by-side for the recognition test. We compared the proportional looking time to the new face to the chance level. Both 9- and 12-month-old infants exhibited recognition memory for the other-race face when familiarized with non-native speech, but not with their native speech. Native language did not facilitate recognition of other-race faces after 9 months of age but a non-native language did, suggesting that 9- and 12-month-olds already have expectations about which language an individual should talk (or at least not talk). Our results confirm the strong links between face and speech processing during infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Clerc
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Mathilde Fort
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- Centre de Recherche en NeuroSciences de Lyon, CRNL UMR 5292, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Gudrun Schwarzer
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
| | - Anna Krasotkina
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
| | - Anne Vilain
- Gipsa-Lab, Département Parole et Cognition, CNRS UMR 5216 & Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - David Méary
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Hélène Lœvenbruck
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
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7
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Grzadzinski R, Amso D, Landa R, Watson L, Guralnick M, Zwaigenbaum L, Deák G, Estes A, Brian J, Bath K, Elison J, Abbeduto L, Wolff J, Piven J. Pre-symptomatic intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): defining a research agenda. J Neurodev Disord 2021; 13:49. [PMID: 34654371 PMCID: PMC8520312 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-021-09393-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts an individual's ability to socialize, communicate, and interact with, and adapt to, the environment. Over the last two decades, research has focused on early identification of ASD with significant progress being made in understanding the early behavioral and biological markers that precede a diagnosis, providing a catalyst for pre-symptomatic identification and intervention. Evidence from preclinical trials suggest that intervention prior to the onset of ASD symptoms may yield more improved developmental outcomes, and clinical studies suggest that the earlier intervention is administered, the better the outcomes. This article brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts to develop a conceptual framework for behavioral intervention, during the pre-symptomatic period prior to the consolidation of symptoms into diagnosis, in infants at very-high-likelihood for developing ASD (VHL-ASD). The overarching goals of this paper are to promote the development of new intervention approaches, empirical research, and policy efforts aimed at VHL-ASD infants during the pre-symptomatic period (i.e., prior to the consolidation of the defining features of ASD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Grzadzinski
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Program for Early Autism Research Leadership and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Dima Amso
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rebecca Landa
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Linda Watson
- Program for Early Autism Research Leadership and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Michael Guralnick
- Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Gedeon Deák
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Annette Estes
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington Autism Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jessica Brian
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Kevin Bath
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Jed Elison
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Leonard Abbeduto
- University of California, Davis, MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Jason Wolff
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Joseph Piven
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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8
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Werchan DM, Amso D. All contexts are not created equal: Social stimuli win the competition for organizing reinforcement learning in 9-month-old infants. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13088. [PMID: 33484594 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Previous work has shown that infants as young as 8 months of age can use certain features of the environment, such as the shape or color of visual stimuli, as cues to organize simple inputs into hierarchical rule structures, a robust form of reinforcement learning that supports generalization of prior learning to new contexts. However, especially in cluttered naturalistic environments, there are an abundance of potential cues that can be used to structure learning into hierarchical rule structures. It is unclear how infants determine what features constitute a higher-order context to organize inputs into hierarchical rule structures. Here, we examine whether 9-month-old infants are biased to use social stimuli, relative to non-social stimuli, as a higher-order context to organize learning of simple visuospatial inputs into hierarchical rule sets. Infants were presented with four face/color-target location pairings, which could be learned most simply as individual associations. Alternatively, infants could use the faces or colorful backgrounds as a higher-order context to organize the inputs into simpler color-location or face-location rules, respectively. Infants were then given a generalization test designed to probe how they learned the initial pairings. The results indicated that infants appeared to use the faces as a higher-order context to organize simpler color-location rules, which then supported generalization of learning to new face contexts. These findings provide new evidence that infants are biased to organize reinforcement learning around social stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise M Werchan
- Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dima Amso
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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9
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Golarai G, Ghahremani DG, Greenwood AC, Gabrieli JDE, Eberhardt JL. The development of race effects in face processing from childhood through adulthood: Neural and behavioral evidence. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13058. [PMID: 33151616 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Most adults are better at recognizing recently encountered faces of their own race, relative to faces of other races. In adults, this race effect in face recognition is associated with differential neural representations of own- and other-race faces in the fusiform face area (FFA), a high-level visual region involved in face recognition. Previous research has linked these differential face representations in adults to viewers' implicit racial associations. However, despite the fact that the FFA undergoes a gradual development which continues well into adulthood, little is known about the developmental time-course of the race effect in FFA responses. Also unclear is how this race effect might relate to the development of face recognition or implicit associations with own- or other-races during childhood and adolescence. To examine the developmental trajectory of these race effects, in a cross-sectional study of European American (EA) children (ages 7-11), adolescents (ages 12-16) and adults (ages 18-35), we evaluated responses to adult African American (AA) and EA face stimuli, using functional magnetic resonance imaging and separate behavioral measures outside the scanner. We found that FFA responses to AA and EA faces differentiated during development from childhood into adulthood; meanwhile, the magnitudes of race effects increased in behavioral measures of face-recognition and implicit racial associations. These three race effects were positively correlated, even after controlling for age. These findings suggest that social and perceptual experiences shape a protracted development of the race effect in face processing that continues well into adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Golijeh Golarai
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Dara G Ghahremani
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - John D E Gabrieli
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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10
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Baek S, Jaffe-Dax S, Emberson LL. How an infant's active response to structured experience supports perceptual-cognitive development. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2020; 254:167-186. [PMID: 32859286 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Previous research on perceptual and cognitive development has predominantly focused on infants' passive response to experience. For example, if infants are exposed to acoustic patterns in the background while they are engaged in another activity, what are they able to learn? However, recent work in this area has revealed that even very young infants are also capable of active perceptual and cognitive responses to experience. Specifically, recent neuroimaging work showed that infants' perceptual systems predict upcoming sensory events and that learning to predict new events rapidly modulates the responses of their perceptual systems. In addition, there is new evidence that young infants have access to endogenous attention and their prediction and attention are rapidly and robustly modified through learning about patterns in the environment. In this chapter, we present a synthesis of the existing research on the impact of infants' active responses to experience and argue that this active engagement importantly supports infants' perceptual-cognitive development. To this end, we first define what a mechanism of active engagement is and examine how learning, selective attention, and prediction can be considered active mechanisms. Then, we argue that these active mechanisms become engaged in response to higher-order environmental structures, such as temporal, spatial, and relational patterns, and review both behavioral and neural evidence of infants' active responses to these structures or patterns. Finally, we discuss how this active engagement in infancy may give rise to the emergence of specialized perceptual-cognitive systems and highlight directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sori Baek
- Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States
| | - Sagi Jaffe-Dax
- Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States
| | - Lauren L Emberson
- Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States.
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11
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Werchan DM, Amso D. Top-down knowledge rapidly acquired through abstract rule learning biases subsequent visual attention in 9-month-old infants. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 42:100761. [PMID: 32072934 PMCID: PMC7242661 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 01/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual attention is an information-gathering mechanism that supports the emergence of complex perceptual and cognitive capacities. Yet, little is known about how the infant brain learns to direct attention to information that is most relevant for learning and behavior. Here we address this gap by examining whether learning a hierarchical rule structure, where there is a higher-order feature that organizes visual inputs into predictable sequences, subsequently biases 9-month-old infants' visual attention to the higher-order visual feature. In Experiment 1, we found that individual differences in infants' ability to structure simple visual inputs into generalizable rules was related to the change in infants' attention biases towards higher-order features. In Experiment 2, we found that increased functional connectivity between the PFC and visual cortex was related to the efficacy of rule learning. Moreover, Granger causality analyses provided exploratory evidence that increased functional connectivity reflected PFC influence over visual cortex. These findings provide new insights into how the infant brain learns to flexibly select features from the cluttered visual world that were previously relevant for learning and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Werchan
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912 United States.
| | - D Amso
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912 United States
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12
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Martinez S, Hahn A, Leytze M, Lucier K, Amir‐Brownstein B, Jantzen KJ. Preferential attention to same‐and other‐ethnicity infant faces does not fully overcome the other‐race effect. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Martinez
- Department of Psychology Western Washington University Bellingham WA USA
| | - Amanda Hahn
- Department of Psychology Humboldt State University Arcata CA USA
| | - Mckaila Leytze
- Department of Psychology Western Washington University Bellingham WA USA
| | - Kathleen Lucier
- Department of Psychology Western Washington University Bellingham WA USA
| | | | - Kelly J. Jantzen
- Department of Psychology Western Washington University Bellingham WA USA
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13
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Marquis AR, Sugden NA. Meta-analytic review of infants' preferential attention to familiar and unfamiliar face types based on gender and race. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2019.100868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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14
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Emberson LL. How does learning and memory shape perceptual development in infancy? PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.plm.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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15
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Xiao NG, Mukaida M, Quinn PC, Pascalis O, Lee K, Itakura S. Narrowing in face and speech perception in infancy: Developmental change in the relations between domains. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 176:113-127. [PMID: 30149243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Revised: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Although prior research has established that perceptual narrowing reflects the influence of experience on the development of face and speech processing, it is unclear whether narrowing in the two domains is related. A within-participant design (N = 72) was used to investigate discrimination of own- and other-race faces and native and non-native speech sounds in 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants. For face and speech discrimination, whereas 3-month-olds discriminated own-race faces and native speech sounds as well as other-race faces and non-native speech sounds, older infants discriminated only own-race faces and native speech sounds. Narrowing in face and narrowing in speech were not correlated at 6 months, negatively correlated at 9 months, and positively correlated at 12 months. The findings reveal dynamic developmental changes in the relation between modalities during the first year of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naiqi G Xiao
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Mai Mukaida
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition-Université Grenoble Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 38058 Grenoble, France
| | - Kang Lee
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2X2, Canada
| | - Shoji Itakura
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
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16
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Markant J, Scott LS. Attention and Perceptual Learning Interact in the Development of the Other-Race Effect. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0963721418769884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Face-processing abilities are biased such that some faces are differentiated, recognized, and identified more readily than others. Across the first year of life, experience with faces shapes the development of face-processing biases. However, the developmental trajectory of face processing and important contributing factors are not well understood. In order to better characterize the development of face processing during infancy, we propose a model involving repeated interactions between attention and perceptual learning. This interactive framework predicts that bottom-up attention orienting to faces leads to rapid perceptual learning about frequently experienced faces, top-down selective-attention biases for familiar faces, and increasingly refined neural representations across the first year of life.
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17
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The development of the own-race advantage in school-age children: A morphing face paradigm. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0195020. [PMID: 29634731 PMCID: PMC5892883 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies examining the other-race effect in school-age children mostly focused on recognition memory performance. Here we investigated perceptual discriminability for Asian-like versus Caucasian-like morph faces in school-age Taiwanese children and adults. One-hundred-and-two 5- to 12-year-old children and twenty-three adults performed a sequential same/different face matching task, where they viewed an Asian- or a Caucasian-parent face followed by either the same parent face or a different morphed face (containing 15%, 30%, 45%, or 60% contribution from the other parent face) and judged if the two faces looked the same. We computed the d’ as the sensitivity index for each age groups. We also analyzed the group mean rejection rates as a function of the morph level and fitted with a cumulative normal distribution function. Results showed that the adults and the oldest 11-12-year-old children exhibited a greater sensitivity (d’) and a smaller discrimination threshold (μ) in the Asian-parent condition than those in the Caucasian-parent condition, indicating the presence of an own-race advantage. On the contrary, 5- to 10-year-old children showed an equal sensitivity and similar discrimination thresholds for both conditions, indicating an absence of the own-race advantage. Moreover, a gradual development in enhancing the discriminability for the Asian-parent condition was observed from age 5 to 12; however, the progression in the Caucasian-parent condition was less apparent. In sum, our findings suggest that expertise in face processing may take the entire childhood to develop, and supports the perceptual learning view of the other-race effect—the own-race advantage seen in adulthood likely reflects a result of prolonged learning specific to faces most commonly seen in one’s visual environment such as own-race faces.
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18
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Minar NJ, Lewkowicz DJ. Overcoming the other-race effect in infancy with multisensory redundancy: 10-12-month-olds discriminate dynamic other-race faces producing speech. Dev Sci 2017; 21:e12604. [PMID: 28944541 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2016] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We tested 4-6- and 10-12-month-old infants to investigate whether the often-reported decline in infant sensitivity to other-race faces may reflect responsiveness to static or dynamic/silent faces rather than a general process of perceptual narrowing. Across three experiments, we tested discrimination of either dynamic own-race or other-race faces which were either accompanied by a speech syllable, no sound, or a non-speech sound. Results indicated that 4-6- and 10-12-month-old infants discriminated own-race as well as other-race faces accompanied by a speech syllable, that only the 10-12-month-olds discriminated silent own-race faces, and that 4-6-month-old infants discriminated own-race and other-race faces accompanied by a non-speech sound but that 10-12-month-old infants only discriminated own-race faces accompanied by a non-speech sound. Overall, the results suggest that the ORE reported to date reflects infant responsiveness to static or dynamic/silent faces rather than a general process of perceptual narrowing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Minar
- Institute for the Study of Child Development, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - David J Lewkowicz
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
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19
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Ellis AE, Xiao NG, Lee K, Oakes LM. Scanning of own- versus other-race faces in infants from racially diverse or homogenous communities. Dev Psychobiol 2017; 59:613-627. [PMID: 28577346 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Revised: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
We examined the role of community face experience on 6- and 8-month-old Caucasian infants' scanning of own- and other-race face scanning. We measured infants' proportional fixation time and scan path amplitudes as indices of face processing. Proportional fixation time to informationally rich face regions varied as a function of age and face race for infants living in a racially homogeneous community, whereas scan path amplitudes varied as a function of age and face race for infants living in a racially diverse community. In both communities 6-month-old infants did not show different responding to own- and other-race faces, whereas 8-month-old infants responded differently to own- and other-race faces. However, 8-month-old infants from the two communities showed different patterns of cross-race face scanning. Therefore, experience in the community beyond the home appears to contribute to the development of differential scanning of own- versus other-race faces between 6 and 8 months of age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann E Ellis
- Department of Psychology, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
| | - Naiqi G Xiao
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kang Lee
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Oakes
- Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, California
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20
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Abstract
Significant work has documented neuroplasticity in development, demonstrating that developmental pathways are shaped by experience. Plasticity is often discussed in terms of the results of differences in input; differences in brain structures, processes, or responses reflect differences in experience. In this paper, I discuss how developmental plasticity also effectively changes input into the system. That is, structures and processes change in response to input, and those changed structures and processes influence future inputs. For example, plasticity may change the pattern of eye movements to a stimulus, thereby changing which part of the scene becomes the input. Thus, plasticity is not only seen in the structures and processes that result from differences in experience, but also is seen in the changes in the input as those structures and processes adapt. The systematic study of the nature of experience, and how differences in experience shape learning, can contribute to our understanding of neuroplasticity in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Oakes
- Department of Psychology, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, 267 Cousteau Place, Davis, CA 95618, United States
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21
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Xie W, Richards JE. The Relation between Infant Covert Orienting, Sustained Attention and Brain Activity. Brain Topogr 2017; 30:198-219. [PMID: 27416932 PMCID: PMC5237418 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-016-0505-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This study used measures of event-related potentials (ERPs) and cortical source analysis to examine the effect of covert orienting and sustained attention on 3- and 4.5-month-old infants' brain activity in a spatial cueing paradigm. Cortical source analysis was conducted with current density reconstruction using realistic head models created from age-appropriate infant MRIs. The validity effect was found in the P1 ERP component that was greater for valid than neutral trials in the electrodes contralateral to the visual targets when the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was short. Cortical source analysis revealed greater current density amplitude around the P1 peak latency in the contralateral inferior occipital and ventral temporal regions for valid than neutral and invalid trials. The processing cost effect was found in the N1 ERP component that was greater for neutral than invalid trials in the short SOA condition. This processing cost effect was also shown in the current density amplitude around the N1 peak latency in the contralateral inferior and middle occipital and middle and superior temporal regions. Infant sustained attention was found to modulate infants' brain responses in covert orienting by enhancing the P1 ERP responses and current density amplitude in their cortical sources during sustained attention. These findings suggest that the neural mechanisms that underpin covert orienting already exist in 3- to 4.5-month-old, and they could be facilitated by infant sustained attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanze Xie
- Department of Psychology, and Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
| | - John E Richards
- Department of Psychology, and Institute for Mind and Brain, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
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22
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Pickron CB, Fava E, Scott LS. Follow My Gaze: Face Race and Sex Influence Gaze‐Cued Attention in Infancy. INFANCY 2017; 22:626-644. [DOI: 10.1111/infa.12180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2016] [Revised: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Eswen Fava
- Psychological and Brain Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst
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23
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Emberson LL. How Does Experience Shape Early Development? Considering the Role of Top-Down Mechanisms. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2017; 52:1-41. [PMID: 28215282 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2016.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Perceptual development requires infants to adapt their perceptual systems to the structures and statistical information of their environment. In this way, perceptual development is not only important in its own right, but is a case study for behavioral and neural plasticity-powerful mechanisms that have the potential to support developmental change in numerous domains starting early in life. While it is widely assumed that perceptual development is a bottom-up process, where simple exposure to sensory input modifies perceptual representations starting early in the perceptual system, there are several critical phenomena in this literature that cannot be explained with an exclusively bottom-up model. This chapter proposes a complementary mechanism where nascent top-down information, feeding back from higher-level regions of the brain, helps to guide perceptual development. Supporting this theoretical proposal, recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies have established that young infants already have the capacity to engage in top-down modulation of their perceptual systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- L L Emberson
- Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States.
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24
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Chien SHL, Wang JF, Huang TR. Developing the Own-Race Advantage in 4-, 6-, and 9-Month-Old Taiwanese Infants: A Perceptual Learning Perspective. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1606. [PMID: 27807427 PMCID: PMC5069286 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous infant studies on the other-race effect have favored the perceptual narrowing view, or declined sensitivities to rarely exposed other-race faces. Here we wish to provide an alternative possibility, perceptual learning, manifested by improved sensitivity for frequently exposed own-race faces in the first year of life. Using the familiarization/visual-paired comparison paradigm, we presented 4-, 6-, and 9-month-old Taiwanese infants with oval-cropped Taiwanese, Caucasian, Filipino faces, and each with three different manipulations of increasing task difficulty (i.e., change identity, change eyes, and widen eye spacing). An adult experiment was first conducted to verify the task difficulty. Our results showed that, with oval-cropped faces, the 4 month-old infants could only discriminate Taiwanese "change identity" condition and not any others, suggesting an early own-race advantage at 4 months. The 6 month-old infants demonstrated novelty preferences in both Taiwanese and Caucasian "change identity" conditions, and proceeded to the Taiwanese "change eyes" condition. The 9-month-old infants demonstrated novelty preferences in the "change identity" condition of all three ethnic faces. They also passed the Taiwanese "change eyes" condition but could not extend this refined ability of detecting a change in the eyes for the Caucasian or Philippine faces. Taken together, we interpret the pattern of results as evidence supporting perceptual learning during the first year: the ability to discriminate own-race faces emerges at 4 months and continues to refine, while the ability to discriminate other-race faces emerges between 6 and 9 months and retains at 9 months. Additionally, the discrepancies in the face stimuli and methods between studies advocating the narrowing view and those supporting the learning view were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarina Hui-Lin Chien
- Graduate Institute of Neural and Cognitive Sciences, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Jing-Fong Wang
- Graduate Institute of Neural and Cognitive Sciences, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Ren Huang
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan
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25
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Markant J, Ackerman LK, Nussenbaum K, Amso D. Selective attention neutralizes the adverse effects of low socioeconomic status on memory in 9-month-old infants. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2016; 18:26-33. [PMID: 26597046 PMCID: PMC4834267 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2015] [Revised: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 10/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) has a documented impact on brain and cognitive development. We demonstrate that engaging spatial selective attention mechanisms may counteract this negative influence of impoverished environments on early learning. We previously used a spatial cueing task to compare target object encoding in the context of basic orienting ("facilitation") versus a spatial selective attention orienting mechanism that engages distractor suppression ("IOR"). This work showed that object encoding in the context of IOR boosted 9-month-old infants' recognition memory relative to facilitation (Markant and Amso, 2013). Here we asked whether this attention-memory link further interacted with SES in infancy. Results indicated that SES was related to memory but not attention orienting efficacy. However, the correlation between SES and memory performance was moderated by the attention mechanism engaged during encoding. SES predicted memory performance when objects were encoded with basic orienting processes, with infants from low-SES environments showing poorer memory than those from high-SES environments. However, SES did not predict memory performance among infants who engaged selective attention during encoding. Spatial selective attention engagement mitigated the effects of SES on memory and may offer an effective mechanism for promoting learning among infants at risk for poor cognitive outcomes related to SES.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura K Ackerman
- Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, USA
| | - Kate Nussenbaum
- Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, USA
| | - Dima Amso
- Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, USA
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26
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Abstract
The main question that Firestone & Scholl (F&S) pose is whether "what and how we see is functionally independent from what and how we think, know, desire, act, and so forth" (sect. 2, para. 1). We synthesize a collection of concerns from an interdisciplinary set of coauthors regarding F&S's assumptions and appeals to intuition, resulting in their treatment of visual perception as context-free.
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