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Loukas S, Filippa M, de Almeida JS, Boehringer AS, Tolsa CB, Barcos-Munoz F, Grandjean DM, van de Ville D, Hüppi PS. Newborn's neural representation of instrumental and vocal music as revealed by fMRI: A dynamic effective brain connectivity study. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26724. [PMID: 39001584 PMCID: PMC11245569 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Music is ubiquitous, both in its instrumental and vocal forms. While speech perception at birth has been at the core of an extensive corpus of research, the origins of the ability to discriminate instrumental or vocal melodies is still not well investigated. In previous studies comparing vocal and musical perception, the vocal stimuli were mainly related to speaking, including language, and not to the non-language singing voice. In the present study, to better compare a melodic instrumental line with the voice, we used singing as a comparison stimulus, to reduce the dissimilarities between the two stimuli as much as possible, separating language perception from vocal musical perception. In the present study, 45 newborns were scanned, 10 full-term born infants and 35 preterm infants at term-equivalent age (mean gestational age at test = 40.17 weeks, SD = 0.44) using functional magnetic resonance imaging while listening to five melodies played by a musical instrument (flute) or sung by a female voice. To examine the dynamic task-based effective connectivity, we employed a psychophysiological interaction of co-activation patterns (PPI-CAPs) analysis, using the auditory cortices as seed region, to investigate moment-to-moment changes in task-driven modulation of cortical activity during an fMRI task. Our findings reveal condition-specific, dynamically occurring patterns of co-activation (PPI-CAPs). During the vocal condition, the auditory cortex co-activates with the sensorimotor and salience networks, while during the instrumental condition, it co-activates with the visual cortex and the superior frontal cortex. Our results show that the vocal stimulus elicits sensorimotor aspects of the auditory perception and is processed as a more salient stimulus while the instrumental condition activated higher-order cognitive and visuo-spatial networks. Common neural signatures for both auditory stimuli were found in the precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus. Finally, this study adds knowledge on the dynamic brain connectivity underlying the newborns capability of early and specialized auditory processing, highlighting the relevance of dynamic approaches to study brain function in newborn populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serafeim Loukas
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Manuela Filippa
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Joana Sa de Almeida
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrew S Boehringer
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Lemanic Neuroscience Doctoral School, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Cristina Borradori Tolsa
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Francisca Barcos-Munoz
- Division of Pediatric Intensive Care and Neonatology, Department of Women, Children and Adolescents, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Didier M Grandjean
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dimitri van de Ville
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Petra S Hüppi
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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2
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Zeng G, Leung TS, Maylott SE, Malik A, Adornato AA, Lebowitz M, Messinger DS, Szeto A, Feldman R, Simpson EA. Infants' salivary oxytocin and positive affective reactions to people. Horm Behav 2024; 164:105579. [PMID: 38905820 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide positively associated with prosociality in adults. Here, we studied whether infants' salivary oxytocin can be reliably measured, is developmentally stable, and is linked to social behavior. We longitudinally collected saliva from 62 U.S. infants (44 % female, 56 % Hispanic/Latino, 24 % Black, 18 % non-Hispanic White, 11 % multiracial) at 4, 8, and 14 months of age and offline-video-coded the valence of their facial affect in response to a video of a smiling woman. We also captured infants' affective reactions in terms of excitement/joyfulness during a live, structured interaction with a singing woman in the Early Social Communication Scales at 14 months. We detected stable individual differences in infants' oxytocin levels over time (over minutes and months) and in infants' positive affect over months and across contexts (video-based and in live interactions). We detected no statistically significant changes in oxytocin levels between 4 and 8 months but found an increase from 8 to 14 months. Infants with higher oxytocin levels showed more positive facial affect to a smiling person video at 4 months; however, this association disappeared at 8 months, and reversed at 14 months (i.e., higher oxytocin was associated with less positive facial affect). Infant salivary oxytocin may be a reliable physiological measure of individual differences related to socio-emotional development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyu Zeng
- School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China; Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
| | - Tiffany S Leung
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | | | - Arushi Malik
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Alexis A Adornato
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Mendel Lebowitz
- School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Angela Szeto
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel; Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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3
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Sclafani V, De Pascalis L, Bozicevic L, Sepe A, Ferrari PF, Murray L. Similarities and differences in the functional architecture of mother- infant communication in rhesus macaque and British mother-infant dyads. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13164. [PMID: 37574499 PMCID: PMC10423724 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39623-3] [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: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Similarly to humans, rhesus macaques engage in mother-infant face-to-face interactions. However, no previous studies have described the naturally occurring structure and development of mother-infant interactions in this population and used a comparative-developmental perspective to directly compare them to the ones reported in humans. Here, we investigate the development of infant communication, and maternal responsiveness in the two groups. We video-recorded mother-infant interactions in both groups in naturalistic settings and analysed them with the same micro-analytic coding scheme. Results show that infant social expressiveness and maternal responsiveness are similarly structured in humans and macaques. Both human and macaque mothers use specific mirroring responses to specific infant social behaviours (modified mirroring to communicative signals, enriched mirroring to affiliative gestures). However, important differences were identified in the development of infant social expressiveness, and in forms of maternal responsiveness, with vocal responses and marking behaviours being predominantly human. Results indicate a common functional architecture of mother-infant communication in humans and monkeys, and contribute to theories concerning the evolution of specific traits of human behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Sclafani
- Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
- College of Social Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - L De Pascalis
- Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
| | - L Bozicevic
- Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
- Department of Primary Care & Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
| | - A Sepe
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Laboratory of Neuro- and Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven, Belgium
| | - P F Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives 'Marc Jeannerod', CNRS, Bron, and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - L Murray
- Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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Ottoboni G, Toraldo A, Proietti R, Cangelosi A, Tessari A. Paradoxical decrease of imitation performance with age in children. Br J Psychol 2023. [PMID: 36942850 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
Imitation development was studied in a cross-sectional design involving 174 primary-school children (aged 6-10), focusing on the effect of actions' complexity and error analysis to infer the underlying cognitive processes. Participants had to imitate the model's actions as if they were in front of a mirror ('specularly'). Complexity varied across three levels: movements of a single limb; arm and leg of the same body side; or arm and leg of opposite body sides. While the overall error rate decreased with age, this was not true of all error categories. The rate of 'side' errors (using a limb of the wrong body side) paradoxically increased with age (from 9 years). However, with increasing age, the error rate also became less sensitive to the complexity of the action. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis that older children have the working memory (WM) resources and the body knowledge necessary to imitate 'anatomically', which leads to additional side errors. Younger children might be paradoxically free from such interference because their WM and/or body knowledge are insufficient for anatomical imitation. Yet, their limited WM resources would prevent them from successfully managing the conflict between spatial codes involved in complex actions (e.g. moving the left arm and the right leg). We also found evidence that action side and content might be stored in separate short-term memory (STM) systems: increasing the number of sides to be encoded only affected side retrieval, but not content retrieval; symmetrically, increasing the content (number of movements) of the action only affected content retrieval, but not side retrieval. In conclusion, results suggest that anatomical imitation might interfere with specular imitation at age 9 and that STM storages for side and content of actions are separate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Ottoboni
- Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari', University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessio Toraldo
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Milan Centre for Neuroscience (NeuroMI), Milan, Italy
| | - Riccardo Proietti
- Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari', University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Angelo Cangelosi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Alessia Tessari
- Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari', University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Alma Mater Research Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Bologna, Italy
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5
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Blumberg MS, Adolph KE. Protracted development of motor cortex constrains rich interpretations of infant cognition. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:233-245. [PMID: 36681607 PMCID: PMC9957955 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Cognition in preverbal human infants must be inferred from overt motor behaviors such as gaze shifts, head turns, or reaching for objects. However, infant mammals - including human infants - show protracted postnatal development of cortical motor outflow. Cortical control of eye, face, head, and limb movements is absent at birth and slowly emerges over the first postnatal year and beyond. Accordingly, the neonatal cortex in humans cannot generate the motor behaviors routinely used to support inferences about infants' cognitive abilities, and thus claims of developmental continuity between infant and adult cognition are suspect. Recognition of the protracted development of motor cortex should temper rich interpretations of infant cognition and motivate more serious consideration of the role of subcortical mechanisms in early cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Blumberg
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; DeLTA Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
| | - Karen E Adolph
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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6
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Kaipainen M, Hautamäki A, Parthemore J. Conceptualization for intended action: A dynamic model. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2164263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mauri Kaipainen
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Antti Hautamäki
- Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Joel Parthemore
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden
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Provenzi L, Roberti E, Capelli E. Envisioning translational hyperscanning: how applied neuroscience might improve family-centered care. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 18:6953329. [PMID: 36542821 PMCID: PMC9910277 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
From the very beginning of their life, human beings are immersed in a social and interactive environment that contributes to shaping their social and cognitive development under typical and at-risk conditions. In order to understand human development in its bidirectional relationship with the social environment, we need to develop a 'complexity-sensitive' approach in neuroscience. Recent advances have started to do so with the application of hyperscanning techniques which involve recording adult and child neural activity simultaneously and highlighting the presence of similar patterns of brain activity in the dyad. Numerous studies focused on typically developing children have been published in recent years with the application of this technique to different fields of developmental research. However, hyperscanning techniques could also be extremely beneficial and effective in studying development in atypical and clinical populations. Such application, namely translational hyperscanning, should foster the transition toward a two-brain translational neuroscience. In this paper, we envision how the application of hyperscanning to atypical and clinical child populations can inform family-centered care for children and their parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livio Provenzi
- Correspondence should be addressed to Livio Provenzi, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, via Mondino 2, Pavia 27100, Italy. E-mail:
| | - Elisa Roberti
- Developmental Psychobiology Lab, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Elena Capelli
- Developmental Psychobiology Lab, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy
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8
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Williams R, Trentini C. Two modes of being together: The levels of intersubjectivity and human relatedness in neuroscience and psychoanalytic thinking. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:981366. [PMID: 36158615 PMCID: PMC9494563 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.981366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The notion of intersubjectivity has achieved a primary status in contemporary psychoanalytic debate, stimulating new theoretical proposals as well as controversies. This paper presents an overview of the main contributions on inter-subjectivity in the field of neurosciences. In humans as well as-probably-in other species, the ability for emotional resonance is guaranteed early in development. Based on this capacity, a primary sense of connectedness is established that can be defined inter-subjective in that it entails sharing affective states and intentions with caregivers. We propose to define such a form of inter-subjectivity as contingent, since the infant's early abilities for resonance do not imply the more generalized capacity to permanently conceive of the relationship outside the realm of current interactions and the infant-caregiver's mutual correspondence of internal states. This form of connection, hence, results in a self-referential, bodily, and affectively codified, context- and time dependent, like-me experience of interactions. The gradual maturation of brain structures and processes as well as interactive experiences allow proper intersubjectivity exchanges, grounded on new intentional and representational capacities, to evolve. In this more mature form of intersubjectivity, the individual is allowed to conceive of her own psychic space both as distinct and as possibly connected with the other's contents and experience, even in the absence of current behavioral indicators of such correspondence. This multi-layered model of intersubjectivity, which is embraced by current neuroscience research, seems to allow for new interpretations of psychoanalytic models of human relatedness based upon classic clinical observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Williams
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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9
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Lai M, D'Acunto G, Guzzetta A, Finnigan S, Ngenda N, Ware RS, Boyd RN, Colditz PB. Infant massage and brain maturation measured using EEG: A randomised controlled trial. Early Hum Dev 2022; 172:105632. [PMID: 35905636 DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2022.105632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Very preterm (VPT) infants develop adverse neurological sequelae from early exposure of the immature brain to the extrauterine environment. AIMS To determine the effects of infant massage on brain maturation in low-risk VPT infants. STUDY DESIGN A randomised controlled trial of VPT infants, who received standard care or daily massage therapy, administered by the mother, from 34 weeks' to 40 weeks' corrected age (CA). SUBJECTS VPT infants (born at 28 weeks to 32 + 6 weeks' gestational age, G.A.) and a healthy at term cohort for comparison. OUTCOME MEASURES At term equivalent age (39 weeks' to 42 weeks' CA), EEG was recorded to calculate global relative power (GRP), using power spectral analysis. RESULTS Sixty infants were recruited, and EEGs of 25 massage and 20 standard care infants were analysable. There was no difference between groups in primary outcome (beta GRP). There was a significantly higher central alpha relative power measured in the intervention group infants, compared to standard care (SC) group (mean difference = 1.42, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.12 to 2.73; p = 0.03). A massage dose effect was shown by a positive correlation between, massage dose and beta, alpha and theta GRP (r = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.12 to 0.64, r = 0.45; 95%CI = 0.16 to 0.66, r = 0.39; 95%CI = 0.10 to 0.62 respectively) and a negative correlation between massage dose and delta GRP (r = -0.41, 95%CI = -0.64 to -0.12), suggesting that a higher dose of massage is associated with more favourable brain maturation. CONCLUSIONS Central alpha regional relative power was greater in massaged infants compared to SC group infants, suggesting relatively greater brain maturation in this area. A measurable massage dose effect in favour of greater brain maturation, shows promise for verification in a larger clinical trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Lai
- Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Giulia D'Acunto
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Guzzetta
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy
| | - Simon Finnigan
- University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Naoni Ngenda
- Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Robert S Ware
- Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Roslyn N Boyd
- Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul B Colditz
- Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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10
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Terrace HS, Bigelow AE, Beebe B. Intersubjectivity and the Emergence of Words. Front Psychol 2022; 13:693139. [PMID: 35602746 PMCID: PMC9116197 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.693139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Intersubjectivity refers to two non-verbal intersubjective relations infants experience during their first year that are precursors to the emergence of words. Trevarthen, a pioneer in the study of intersubjectivity, referred to those relations as primary and secondary intersubjectivity. The former, a dyadic coordination between the infant and her caregiver, begins at birth. The latter, a triadic coordination that develops around 9 months, allows the infant and a caregiver to share attention to particular features of the environment. Secondary intersubjectivity is crucial for an infant’s ability to begin to produce words, at around 12 months. Much research on the social and cognitive origins of language has focused on secondary intersubjectivity. That is unfortunate because it neglects the fact that secondary intersubjectivity and the emergence of words are built on a foundation of primary intersubjectivity. It also ignores the evolutionary origins of intersubjectivity and its uniquely human status. That unique status explains why only humans learn words. This article seeks to address these issues by relating the literature on primary intersubjectivity, particularly research on bi-directional and contingent communication between infants and mothers, to joint attention and ultimately to words. In that context, we also discuss Hrdy’s hypothesis about the influence of alloparents on the evolution of intersubjectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herbert S Terrace
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Ann E Bigelow
- Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada
| | - Beatrice Beebe
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, United States
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11
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Zores Koenig C, Kuhn P. Neonatal imitation, activation of the mirror neuron system and neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants. Acta Paediatr 2022; 111:1829-1830. [PMID: 35538793 DOI: 10.1111/apa.16400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Zores Koenig
- CHU Strasbourg, Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né, Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre Strasbourg France
- INCI CNRS/université de Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Pierre Kuhn
- CHU Strasbourg, Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né, Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre Strasbourg France
- INCI CNRS/université de Strasbourg Strasbourg France
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12
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Michon M, Zamorano-Abramson J, Aboitiz F. Faces and Voices Processing in Human and Primate Brains: Rhythmic and Multimodal Mechanisms Underlying the Evolution and Development of Speech. Front Psychol 2022; 13:829083. [PMID: 35432052 PMCID: PMC9007199 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.829083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
While influential works since the 1970s have widely assumed that imitation is an innate skill in both human and non-human primate neonates, recent empirical studies and meta-analyses have challenged this view, indicating other forms of reward-based learning as relevant factors in the development of social behavior. The visual input translation into matching motor output that underlies imitation abilities instead seems to develop along with social interactions and sensorimotor experience during infancy and childhood. Recently, a new visual stream has been identified in both human and non-human primate brains, updating the dual visual stream model. This third pathway is thought to be specialized for dynamics aspects of social perceptions such as eye-gaze, facial expression and crucially for audio-visual integration of speech. Here, we review empirical studies addressing an understudied but crucial aspect of speech and communication, namely the processing of visual orofacial cues (i.e., the perception of a speaker's lips and tongue movements) and its integration with vocal auditory cues. Along this review, we offer new insights from our understanding of speech as the product of evolution and development of a rhythmic and multimodal organization of sensorimotor brain networks, supporting volitional motor control of the upper vocal tract and audio-visual voices-faces integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëva Michon
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Evolutionary Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia Humana y Neuropsicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
| | - José Zamorano-Abramson
- Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social, Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Evolutionary Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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13
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A New Perspective on Assessing Cognition in Children through Estimating Shared Intentionality. J Intell 2022; 10:jintelligence10020021. [PMID: 35466234 PMCID: PMC9036231 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence10020021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
This theoretical article aims to create a conceptual framework for future research on digital methods for assessing cognition in children through estimating shared intentionality, different from assessing through behavioral markers. It shows the new assessing paradigm based directly on the evaluation of parent-child interaction exchanges (protoconversation), allowing early monitoring of children’s developmental trajectories. This literature analysis attempts to understand how cognition is related to emotions in interpersonal dynamics and whether assessing these dynamics shows cognitive abilities in children. The first part discusses infants’ unexpected achievements, observing the literature about children’s development. The analysis supposes that due to the caregiver’s help under emotional arousal, newborns’ intentionality could appear even before it is possible for children’s intention to occur. The emotional bond evokes intentionality in neonates. Therefore, they can manifest unexpected achievements while performing them with caregivers. This outcome shows an appearance of protoconversation in adult-children dyads through shared intentionality. The article presents experimental data of other studies that extend our knowledge about human cognition by showing an increase of coordinated neuronal activities and the acquisition of new knowledge by subjects in the absence of sensory cues. This highlights the contribution of interpersonal interaction to gain cognition, discussed already by Vygotsky. The current theoretical study hypothesizes that if shared intentionality promotes cognition from the onset, this interaction modality can also facilitate cognition in older children. Therefore in the second step, the current article analyzes empirical data of recent studies that reported meaningful interaction in mother-infant dyads without sensory cues. It discusses whether an unbiased digital assessment of the interaction ability of children is possible before the age when the typical developmental trajectory implies verbal communication. The article develops knowledge for a digital assessment that can measure the extent of children’s ability to acquire knowledge through protoconversation. This specific assessment can signalize the lack of communication ability in children even when the typical trajectory of peers’ development does not imply verbal communication.
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Faustino B. Minding my brain: Fourteen neuroscience-based principles to enhance psychotherapy responsiveness. Clin Psychol Psychother 2022; 29:1254-1275. [PMID: 35112428 DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Intersections between psychotherapy and neurosciences are at its dawn. The quest to understand the neural underpinnings of psychological processes has led several generations of scientists to explore neural correlates between mind, brain, and behavior. Neuroscience methods and research has given psychology new perspectives and insights about the structure and function of complex neural pathways, that underly human functioning (cognition, emotion, motivation, and interpersonal behavior). By translating neuroscientific findings into psychotherapeutic principles of change, it is possible to promote responsiveness towards brain dysfunction that underlies patients' psychological malfunctioning. In psychotherapy, responsiveness is a core aspect of the therapeutic change process, especially to adapt psychological interventions to patients' motivational stages and preferences, coping styles, neurobehavioral modes, and emotional needs. Within a transtheoretical and translational approach, contemporary neuroscientific findings are revised, discussed, and used to attempt to build-on fourteen theoretical brain-based principles that may be applied to psychotherapy. Translating these empirical findings into practical principles, clinical strategies and tasks is expected to enhance psychotherapy responsiveness grounded on a science-based knowledge of brain functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Faustino
- Faculdade de Psicologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.,HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal
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15
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Schwartz B, Rubel JA, Deisenhofer AK, Lutz W. Movement-based patient-therapist attunement in psychological therapy and its association with early change. Digit Health 2022; 8:20552076221129098. [PMID: 36185387 PMCID: PMC9520162 DOI: 10.1177/20552076221129098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Attunement is a novel measure of nonverbal synchrony reflecting the duration of the present moment shared by two interaction partners. This study examined its association with early change in outpatient psychotherapy. Methods Automated video analysis based on motion energy analysis (MEA) and cross-correlation of the movement time-series of patient and therapist was conducted to calculate movement synchrony for N = 161 outpatients. Movement-based attunement was defined as the range of connected time lags with significant synchrony. Latent change classes in the HSCL-11 were identified with growth mixture modeling (GMM) and predicted by pre-treatment covariates and attunement using multilevel multinomial regression. Results GMM identified four latent classes: high impairment, no change (Class 1); high impairment, early response (Class 2); moderate impairment (Class 3); and low impairment (Class 4). Class 2 showed the strongest attunement, the largest early response, and the best outcome. Stronger attunement was associated with a higher likelihood of membership in Class 2 (b = 0.313, p = .007), Class 3 (b = 0.251, p = .033), and Class 4 (b = 0.275, p = .043) compared to Class 1. For highly impaired patients, the probability of no early change (Class 1) decreased and the probability of early response (Class 2) increased as a function of attunement. Conclusions Among patients with high impairment, stronger patient-therapist attunement was associated with early response, which predicted a better treatment outcome. Video-based assessment of attunement might provide new information for therapists not available from self-report questionnaires and support therapists in their clinical decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Schwartz
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Julian A. Rubel
- Department of Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Giessen, Germany
| | | | - Wolfgang Lutz
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
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Koenig‐Zores C, Davy‐Monteil M, Vincent V, Astruc D, Meyer N, Kuhn P. Very preterm infants displayed similar imitation skills to full-term infants at term equivalent age. Acta Paediatr 2021; 110:3237-3245. [PMID: 34473844 DOI: 10.1111/apa.16093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
AIM Very preterm infants are exposed to an atypical environment that could alter their developmental trajectory. We aimed to examine neonatal imitation, a foundation of social cognition, in very preterm and full-term infants. METHODS In Strasbourg, France, between 2015 and 2018, we prospectively investigated the development of imitation skills. Very preterm (27 to 33 weeks of gestational age, n = 20) and full-term infants (n = 20) were enrolled using four gestures: tongue protrusion, mouth opening, sequential finger movements and hand movements. All testing were performed in infants at term-equivalent age. Two independent and blinded observers coded the behaviour of each infant on video recording. Facial expressions or hand movements, similar to the one presented, were quantified and classified according to their timing. RESULTS A total of 37 out of 40 infants imitated at least one gesture. The very preterm and term infants did not differ in the presence of imitation or its timing for the four gestures tested. The very preterm infants displayed more imitation abilities for sequential finger movement. Tongue protrusion and sequential finger movement were the particularly strong imitated gesture in both groups. CONCLUSION These findings are the first to show similar neonatal imitation in term and very preterm infants. Our results may support early parent-infant social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Koenig‐Zores
- Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre CHU Strasbourg Strasbourg France
- INCI UPR 3231 CNRS/ université de Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Mathilde Davy‐Monteil
- Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre CHU Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Véronique Vincent
- Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre CHU Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Dominique Astruc
- Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre CHU Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Nicolas Meyer
- Service d'information médicale‐biostatistique ‐ Santé Publique CHU Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | - Pierre Kuhn
- Médecine et Réanimation du nouveau‐né Service de Pédiatrie 2 Pôle médico chirurgical Pédiatrique de Hautepierre CHU Strasbourg Strasbourg France
- INCI UPR 3231 CNRS/ université de Strasbourg Strasbourg France
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Davis J, Redshaw J, Suddendorf T, Nielsen M, Kennedy-Costantini S, Oostenbroek J, Slaughter V. Does Neonatal Imitation Exist? Insights From a Meta-Analysis of 336 Effect Sizes. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021; 16:1373-1397. [PMID: 33577426 DOI: 10.1177/1745691620959834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Neonatal imitation is a cornerstone in many theoretical accounts of human development and social behavior, yet its existence has been debated for the past 40 years. To examine possible explanations for the inconsistent findings in this body of research, we conducted a multilevel meta-analysis synthesizing 336 effect sizes from 33 independent samples of human newborns, reported in 26 articles. The meta-analysis found significant evidence for neonatal imitation (d = 0.68, 95% CI = [0.39, 0.96], p < .001) but substantial heterogeneity between study estimates. This heterogeneity was not explained by any of 13 methodological moderators identified by previous reviews, but it was associated with researcher affiliation, test of moderators (QM) (15) = 57.09, p < .001. There are at least two possible explanations for these results: (a) Neonatal imitation exists and its detection varies as a function of uncaptured methodological factors common to a limited set of studies, and (2) neonatal imitation does not exist and the overall positive result is an artifact of high researcher degrees of freedom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland
| | | | | | - Mark Nielsen
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland
- Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg
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18
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Heimann M, Holmer E. Neonatal Imitation, Intersubjectivity, and Children With Atypical Development: Do Observations on Autism and Down Syndrome Change Our Understanding? Front Psychol 2021; 12:701795. [PMID: 34512459 PMCID: PMC8430258 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Almost all studies on neonatal imitation to date seem to have focused on typically developing children, and we thus lack information on the early imitative abilities of children who follow atypical developmental trajectories. From both practical and theoretical perspectives, these abilities might be relevant to study in children who develop a neuropsychiatric diagnosis later on or in infants who later show impaired ability to imitate. Theoretical in the sense that it will provide insight into the earliest signs of intersubjectivity—i.e., primary intersubjectivity—and how this knowledge might influence our understanding of children following atypical trajectories of development. Practical in the sense that it might lead to earlier detection of certain disabilities. In the present work, we screen the literature for empirical studies on neonatal imitation in children with an Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Down syndrome (DS) as well as present an observation of neonatal imitation in an infant that later was diagnosed with autism and a re-interpretation of previously published data on the phenomenon in a small group of infants with DS. Our findings suggest that the empirical observations to date are too few to draw any definite conclusions but that the existing data suggests that neonatal imitation can be observed both in children with ASD and in children with DS. Thus, neonatal imitation might not represent a useful predictor of a developmental deficit. Based on current theoretical perspectives advocating that neonatal imitation is a marker of primary intersubjectivity, we propose tentatively that an ability to engage in purposeful exchanges with another human being exists in these populations from birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Heimann
- Infant and Child Lab, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Emil Holmer
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, The Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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Ionta S. Visual Neuropsychology in Development: Anatomo-Functional Brain Mechanisms of Action/Perception Binding in Health and Disease. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:689912. [PMID: 34135745 PMCID: PMC8203289 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.689912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Vision is the main entrance for environmental input to the human brain. Even if vision is our most used sensory modality, its importance is not limited to environmental exploration. Rather it has strong links to motor competences, further extending to cognitive and social aspects of human life. These multifaceted relationships are particularly important in developmental age and become dramatically evident in presence of complex deficits originating from visual aberrancies. The present review summarizes the available neuropsychological evidence on the development of visual competences, with a particular focus on the associated visuo-motor integration skills in health and disease. With the aim of supporting future research and interventional settings, the goal of the present review is to constitute a solid base to help the translation of neuropsychological hypotheses into straightforward empirical investigations and rehabilitation/training protocols. This approach will further increase the impact, ameliorate the acceptance, and ease the use and implementation of lab-derived intervention protocols in real-life situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvio Ionta
- Sensory-Motor Lab (SeMoLa), Department of Ophthalmology-University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital-Fondation Asile des Aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
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20
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Ferronato PAM, Resende B, Manoel EDJ. Interweaving social and manipulative development in early infancy: Some direction for infant caregiving. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 63:101564. [PMID: 33857825 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Early infancy has been neglect not having the best opportunities to promote social motor and cognitive development. The maturational concept considering young infants as passive beings provide a misguided view of the developmental process. The human infant is an active being from the very beginning of life. In the social and physical world, they can, by observing and imitating, perform complex actions involving different motor behaviours. In the present review we argue that imitation and manipulative actions are integrated in Expressive Action System (Reed, 1996) where baby-caregiver social interaction is the link between the use and exploration of objects in the world. We present evidence that neonatal imitation and manipulation activities are connected and thus, we propose stimulation practices based in seminal experimental designs where infants should be positioned in favourable postures to observe others acting in the world. This will have an impact on the way that early infants understand the social world and the chain of actions possible in this environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Briseida Resende
- Psychology Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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21
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Slaughter V. Do Newborns Have the Ability to Imitate? Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:377-387. [PMID: 33727017 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Neonatal imitation is widely accepted as fact and cited as evidence of an inborn mirror neuron system that underpins human social behaviour, even though its existence has been debated for decades. The possibility that newborns do not imitate was reinvigorated recently by powerful longitudinal data and novel analyses. Although the evidence is still mixed, recent research progresses the debate by ruling out some long-standing explanations for why the effect might be difficult to detect, by showing that only some research groups observe it, and by revealing indications that the published literature is biased. Further advances will be made with updated testing procedures and reporting standards, and investigation of new research questions such as how infants could learn to imitate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Slaughter
- Early Cognitive Development Centre, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia 4072.
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22
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Maylott SE, Paukner A, Ahn YA, Simpson EA. Human and monkey infant attention to dynamic social and nonsocial stimuli. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 62:841-857. [PMID: 32424813 PMCID: PMC7944642 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The present study explored behavioral norms for infant social attention in typically developing human and nonhuman primate infants. We examined the normative development of attention to dynamic social and nonsocial stimuli longitudinally in macaques (Macaca mulatta) at 1, 3, and 5 months of age (N = 75) and humans at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 13 months of age (N = 69) using eye tracking. All infants viewed concurrently played silent videos-one social video and one nonsocial video. Both macaque and human infants were faster to look to the social than the nonsocial stimulus, and both species grew faster to orient to the social stimulus with age. Further, macaque infants' social attention increased linearly from 1 to 5 months. In contrast, human infants displayed a nonlinear pattern of social interest, with initially greater attention to the social stimulus, followed by a period of greater interest in the nonsocial stimulus, and then a rise in social interest from 6 to 13 months. Overall, human infants looked longer than macaque infants, suggesting humans have more sustained attention in the first year of life. These findings highlight potential species similarities and differences, and reflect a first step in establishing baseline patterns of early social attention development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E. Maylott
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Annika Paukner
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England
| | - Yeojin A. Ahn
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
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23
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De Stefani E, Rodà F, Volta E, Pincolini V, Farnese A, Rossetti S, Pedretti F, Ferrari PF. Learning new sport actions: Pilot study to investigate the imitative and the verbal instructive teaching methods in motor education. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237697. [PMID: 32797070 PMCID: PMC7428179 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the project was to investigate the effects of two strategies of teaching new sport actions on performance of eight-year-old children: observational-imitative method (OIM) and descriptive-directive method (DDM). The OIM group was provided with a pre-practice instruction in the form of expert modeling observation by an expert athlete. The DDM group received only verbal explanations of few selected static images. Thirty-six children (18 males and 18 females, mean age = 8,8) participated in the experiment. Subjects were randomly assigned to the OIM or DDM groups. Participants were instructed to perform four sport motor sequences never performed before (shoulder stand, soccer action, vortex howler throw, step action). Actions were videotaped and 2D kinematic analysis performed. A 10-point Likert questionnaire was administered to blind sport experts to assess the correctness and accuracy of each action. Results suggest that the OIM is the most effective instruction method when participants have no experience with the sport action to be performed. On the contrary, if the athlete needs to learn specific aspects of an exercise (such as grasping a tool) the best method is the DDM. In fact, detailed information on how to grab the vortex helped children in throwing it. We also found gender differences which might reflect cultural influences in specific sports (e.g. soccer). Finally, repetition of the exercise also improved the DDM group's performance. This has potential applications in sport teaching, suggesting that in the absence of a model performing the action to be imitated, the DDM can be as effective as the OIM if the observer repeats the sport action many times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa De Stefani
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Rodà
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Elio Volta
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Giocampus Steering Committee, Parma, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | - Pier Francesco Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Bron, France
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Filippa M, Menin D, Panebianco R, Monaci MG, Dondi M, Grandjean D. Live Maternal Speech and Singing Increase Self-Touch and Eye-Opening in Preterm Newborns: A Preliminary Study. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-020-00336-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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25
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Pepperberg IM. The Comparative Psychology of Intelligence: Some Thirty Years Later. Front Psychol 2020; 11:973. [PMID: 32508723 PMCID: PMC7248277 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
After re-reading Macphail's (1987) essay "The Comparative Psychology of Intelligence" with all the associated commentaries, I was struck by how contemporary many of the arguments and counter-arguments still appear. Of course, we now know much more about the abilities of many more species (including their neurobiology) and fewer researchers currently favor explanations of behavior based solely on associative processes; however, the role of contextual variables in comparative psychology still remains cloudy. I discuss these issues briefly. Given my research interests involving the cognitive and communicative abilities of Grey parrots, the one aspect of the original article upon which I feel I can comment in depth involves Macphail's claims about the importance of language-and specifically syntax-in problem-solving and thus in placing humans above all other creatures. Granted, no other species has (or in my opinion is likely ever to acquire) everything that goes into what is considered "human language." Nevertheless, several other species have acquired symbolic representation, and considerable information now exists upon which to base an argument that such acquisition by itself enables more complex and "human-like" cognitive processes. Such processes may form the basis of the kind of intelligence that is measured-not surprisingly-with human-based tasks, including the use of such representations as a means to directly query non-human subjects in ways not unlike those used with young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene M Pepperberg
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Filippa M, Monaci MG, Young S, Grandjean D, Nuti G, Nadel J. Shall We Play the Same? Pedagogical Perspectives on Infants’ and Children’s Imitation of Musical Gestures. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1087. [PMID: 32581943 PMCID: PMC7283546 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Imitation, both gestural and vocal, has been acknowledged to be at the origin of human communication (Donald, 1991). Music is often considered to be the first means of communication of emotion via both vocal and gestural synchronization (Malloch, 1999; Malloch and Trevarthen, 2009). Instrumental music is part of the human heritage for more than 35,000 years before our era (Aimé et al., 2020). However, very little is known about the acquisition of gestures that produce sounds (i.e., musical gestures) and their role in the development of music and musicality. In the present paper, we propose that studying early synchronous imitation of musical gestures is essential both for investigating the development of the early action–perception system and for outlining early music interventions during infancy. We designed double musical objects which can be used in preschool music education for prompting synchronic imitation of musical gestures between adult and child, and between dyads of infants. We conclude by proposing a novel pedagogical perspective in music education for the early years which links the privileged orientation of infants and children towards sound discoveries with the development of perception-action coupling via imitation of musical gestures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Filippa
- Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Paediatrics, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Valle d’Aosta, Aosta, Italy
- *Correspondence: Manuela Filippa,
| | | | - Susan Young
- University of Roehampton London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Didier Grandjean
- Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gianni Nuti
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Valle d’Aosta, Aosta, Italy
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Simpson EA, Maylott SE, Lazo RJ, Leonard KA, Kaburu SSK, Suomi SJ, Paukner A, Ferrari PF. Social touch alters newborn monkey behavior. Infant Behav Dev 2019; 57:101368. [PMID: 31521911 PMCID: PMC6878204 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
In humans, infants respond positively to slow, gentle stroking-processed by C-tactile (CT) nerve fibers-by showing reductions in stress and increases in eye contact, smiling, and positive vocalizations. More frequent maternal touch is linked to greater activity and connectivity strength in social brain regions, and increases children's attention to and learning of faces. It has been theorized that touch may prime children for social interactions and set them on a path towards healthy social cognitive development. However, less is known about the effects of touch on young infants' psychological development, especially in the newborn period, a highly sensitive period of transition with rapid growth in sensory and social processing. It remains untested whether newborns can distinguish CT-targeted touch from other types of touch, or whether there are benefits of touch for newborns' social, emotional, or cognitive development. In the present study, we experimentally investigated the acute effects of touch in newborn monkeys, a common model for human social development. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), like humans, are highly social, have complex mother-infant interactions with frequent body contact for the first weeks of life, making them an excellent model of infant sociality. Infant monkeys in the present study were reared in a neonatal nursery, enabling control over their early environment, including all caregiver interactions. One-week-old macaque infants (N = 27) participated in three 5-minute counter-balanced caregiver interactions, all with mutual gaze: stroking head and shoulders (CT-targeted touch), stroking palms of hands and soles of feet (Non-CT touch), or no stroking (No-touch). Immediately following the interaction, infants watched social and nonsocial videos and picture arrays including faces and objects, while we tracked their visual attention with remote eye tracking. We found that, during the caregiver interactions, infants behaved differently while being touched compared to the no-touch condition, irrespective of the body part touched. Most notably, in both touch conditions, infants exhibited fewer stress-related behaviors-self-scratching, locomotion, and contact time with a comfort object-compared to when they were not touched. Following CT-targeted touch, infants were faster to orient to the picture arrays compared to the other interaction conditions, suggesting CT-targeted touch may activate or prime infants' attentional orienting system. In the No-touch condition infants attended longer to the nonsocial compared to the social video, possibly reflecting a baseline preference for nonsocial stimuli. In contrast, in both touch conditions, infants' looked equally to the social and nonsocial videos, suggesting that touch may influence the types of visual stimuli that hold infants' attention. Collectively, our results reveal that newborn macaques responded positively to touch, and touch appeared to influence some aspects of their subsequent attention, although we found limited evidence that these effects are mediated by CT fibers. These findings suggest that newborn touch may broadly support infants' psychological development, and may have early evolutionary roots, shared across primates. This study illustrates the unique insight offered by nonhuman primates for exploring early infant social touch, revealing that touch may positively affect emotional and attentional development as early as the newborn period.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarah E Maylott
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Roberto J Lazo
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Kyla A Leonard
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
| | - Stefano S K Kaburu
- Department of Biomedical Science & Physiology, Faculty of Science & Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen J Suomi
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Poolesville, Maryland, USA
| | - Annika Paukner
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England, United Kingdom
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives 'Marc Jeannerod', CNRS, and Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Lyon, France
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Redshaw J, Nielsen M, Slaughter V, Kennedy-Costantini S, Oostenbroek J, Crimston J, Suddendorf T. Individual differences in neonatal "imitation" fail to predict early social cognitive behaviour. Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12892. [PMID: 31368638 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The influential hypothesis that humans imitate from birth - and that this capacity is foundational to social cognition - is currently being challenged from several angles. Most prominently, the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal study of neonatal imitation to date failed to find evidence that neonates copied any of nine actions at any of four time points (Oostenbroek et al., [2016] Current Biology, 26, 1334-1338). The authors of an alternative and statistically liberal post-hoc analysis of these same data (Meltzoff et al., [2017] Developmental Science, 21, e12609), however, concluded that the infants actually did imitate one of the nine actions: tongue protrusion. In line with the original intentions of this longitudinal study, we here report on whether individual differences in neonatal "imitation" predict later-developing social cognitive behaviours. We measured a variety of social cognitive behaviours in a subset of the original sample of infants (N = 71) during the first 18 months: object-directed imitation, joint attention, synchronous imitation and mirror self-recognition. Results show that, even using the liberal operationalization, individual scores for neonatal "imitation" of tongue protrusion failed to predict any of the later-developing social cognitive behaviours. The average Spearman correlation was close to zero, mean rs = 0.027, 95% CI [-0.020, 0.075], with all Bonferroni adjusted p values > .999. These results run counter to Meltzoff et al.'s rebuttal, and to the existence of a "like me" mechanism in neonates that is foundational to human social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Redshaw
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Mark Nielsen
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Jessica Crimston
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Redshaw J. Re-analysis of data reveals no evidence for neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190342. [PMID: 31337292 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past decade, a growing number of publications have claimed to provide evidence for the existence and function of neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques. Here I show that there is in fact no empirical basis for these claims. Studies of the phenomenon have consistently failed to implement the gold standard cross-target analytical approach, which controls for increases in matching responses that may not be a function of the specific modelled behaviour. Critically, a pre-registered re-analysis of the entire set of existing data using this cross-target approach shows that macaque neonates have failed to produce matching tongue protrusion or lipsmacking responses at levels greater than chance. Furthermore, there is no evidence for intra-individual consistency in 'imitative' responses across different actions, as imitation scores for the two actions are negatively correlated with each other. Macaque tongue protrusion and lipsmacking responses may vary as a function of general factors that fluctuate over testing sessions, rather than as a function of the specific model or of between-individual variations in imitative tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Redshaw
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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30
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Beyond neonatal imitation: Aerodigestive stereotypies, speech development, and social interaction in the extended perinatal period. Behav Brain Sci 2019; 40:e403. [PMID: 29342817 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x17001923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
In our target article, we argued that the positive results of neonatal imitation are likely to be by-products of normal aerodigestive development. Our hypothesis elicited various responses on the role of social interaction in infancy, the methodological issues about imitation experiments, and the relation between the aerodigestive theory and the development of speech. Here we respond to the commentaries.
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31
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Montirosso R, Piazza C, Giusti L, Provenzi L, Ferrari PF, Reni G, Borgatti R. Exploring the EEG mu rhythm associated with observation and execution of a goal-directed action in 14-month-old preterm infants. Sci Rep 2019; 9:8975. [PMID: 31222153 PMCID: PMC6586615 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45495-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalographic mu rhythm desynchronization is thought to reflect Mirror Neuron System (MNS) activity and represents an important neural correlate of the coupling between action execution and perception. It is still unclear if the MNS in human ontogeny is already available at the beginning of postnatal life and how early experience impacts its development. Premature birth provides a "natural condition" for investigating the effects of early, atypical extra-uterine experience on MNS. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether the MNS activity is associated with prematurity. We compared the mu rhythm activity in preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) 14-month old infants during an action observation/execution (AO/AE) task. Mu rhythm desynchronization was computed over frontal, central, parietal and occipital regions. Both groups showed mu rhythm suppression in all the scalp regions during action execution. Different desynchronization patterns emerged during action observation. Specifically, FT infants showed mu suppression in the right frontal, bilateral parietal and occipital regions; whereas PT infants exhibited mu suppression only in the right parietal region. Overall, these preliminary findings indicate that an atypical extra uterine experience might have an impact on the MNS activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Montirosso
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
| | - Caterina Piazza
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", Bioengineering Laboratory, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Giusti
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Livio Provenzi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Pier Francesco Ferrari
- CNRS/Université Claude Bernard, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Lyon, France
| | - Gianluigi Reni
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", Bioengineering Laboratory, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Renato Borgatti
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
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32
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Heimann M, Tjus T. Neonatal imitation: Temporal characteristics in imitative response patterns. INFANCY 2019; 24:674-692. [DOI: 10.1111/infa.12304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 03/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Heimann
- The Infant and Child Lab Division of Psychology Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning Linköping University Linköping Sweden
| | - Tomas Tjus
- Department of Psychology University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden
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de Klerk CCJM, Lamy‐Yang I, Southgate V. The role of sensorimotor experience in the development of mimicry in infancy. Dev Sci 2019; 22:e12771. [PMID: 30415485 PMCID: PMC6767077 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
During social interactions we often have an automatic and unconscious tendency to copy or 'mimic' others' actions. The dominant view on the neural basis of mimicry appeals to an automatic coupling between perception and action. It has been suggested that this coupling is formed through associative learning during correlated sensorimotor experience. Although studies with adult participants have provided support for this hypothesis, little is known about the role of sensorimotor experience in supporting the development of perceptual-motor couplings, and consequently mimicry behaviour, in infancy. Here we investigated whether the extent to which an observed action elicits mimicry depends on the opportunity an infant has had to develop perceptual-motor couplings for this action through correlated sensorimotor experience. We found that mothers' tendency to imitate their 4-month-olds' facial expressions during a parent-child interaction session was related to infants' facial mimicry as measured by electromyography. Maternal facial imitation was not related to infants' mimicry of hand actions, and instead we found preliminary evidence that infants' tendency to look at their own hands may be related to their tendency to mimic hand actions. These results are consistent with the idea that mimicry is supported by perceptual-motor couplings that are formed through correlated sensorimotor experience obtained by observing one's own actions and imitative social partners.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Iona Lamy‐Yang
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive DevelopmentBirkbeck CollegeUniversity of LondonLondonUK
- School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityWalesUK
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34
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Autonomic Responses to Emotional Stimuli in Children Affected by Facial Palsy: The Case of Moebius Syndrome. Neural Plast 2019; 2019:7253768. [PMID: 31093273 PMCID: PMC6476053 DOI: 10.1155/2019/7253768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
According to embodied simulation theories, others' emotions are recognized by the unconscious mimicking of observed facial expressions, which requires the implicit activation of the motor programs that produce a specific expression. Motor responses performed during the expression of a given emotion are hypothesized to be directly linked to autonomic responses associated with that emotional behavior. We tested this hypothesis in 9 children (Mage = 5.66) affected by Moebius syndrome (MBS) and 15 control children (Mage = 6.6). MBS is a neurological congenital disorder characterized by underdevelopment of the VI and VII cranial nerves, which results in paralysis of the face. Moebius patients' inability to produce facial expressions impairs their capacity to communicate emotions through the face. We therefore assessed Moebius children's autonomic response to emotional stimuli (video cartoons) by means of functional infrared thermal (fIRT) imaging. Patients showed weaker temperature changes compared to controls, suggesting impaired autonomic activity. They also showed difficulties in recognizing facial emotions from static illustrations. These findings reveal that the impairment of facial movement attenuates the intensity of emotional experience, probably through the diminished activation of autonomic responses associated with emotional stimuli. The current study is the first to investigate emotional responses in MBS children, providing important insights into the role of facial expressions in emotional processing during early development.
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Beyond aerodigestion: Exaptation of feeding-related mouth movements for social communication in human and nonhuman primates. Behav Brain Sci 2019; 40:e397. [PMID: 29342807 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x16001941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Three arguments are advanced from human and nonhuman primate infancy research for the exaptation of ingestive mouth movements (tongue protrusion and lip smacking) for the purposes of social communication: their relation to affiliative behaviours, their sensitivity to social context, and their role in social development. Although these behaviours may have an aerodigestive function, such an account of their occurrence is only partial.
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36
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Carcea I, Froemke RC. Biological mechanisms for observational learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 54:178-185. [PMID: 30529989 PMCID: PMC6361711 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2018] [Revised: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Observational learning occurs when an animal capitalizes on the experience of another to change its own behavior in a given context. This form of learning is an efficient strategy for adapting to changes in environmental conditions, but little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. There is an abundance of literature supporting observational learning in humans and other primates, and more recent studies have begun documenting observational learning in other species such as birds and rodents. The neural mechanisms for observational learning depend on the species' brain organization and on the specific behavior being acquired. However, as a general rule, it appears that social information impinges on neural circuits for direct learning, mimicking or enhancing neuronal activity patterns that function during pavlovian, spatial or instrumental learning. Understanding the biological mechanisms for social learning could boost translational studies into behavioral interventions for a wide range of learning disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana Carcea
- Brain Health Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103 USA; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103 USA; Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Neuroscience Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA
| | - Robert C Froemke
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Neuroscience Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA; Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016 USA.
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37
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Hashiya K, Meng X, Uto Y, Tajiri K. Overt congruent facial reaction to dynamic emotional expressions in 9–10-month-old infants. Infant Behav Dev 2019; 54:48-56. [DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2018.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Murray L, Bozicevic L, Ferrari PF, Vaillancourt K, Dalton L, Goodacre T, Chakrabarti B, Bicknell S, Cooper P, Stein A, De Pascalis L. The Effects of Maternal Mirroring on the Development of Infant Social Expressiveness: The Case of Infant Cleft Lip. Neural Plast 2018; 2018:5314657. [PMID: 30647731 PMCID: PMC6311812 DOI: 10.1155/2018/5314657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Parent-infant social interactions start early in development, with infants showing active communicative expressions by just two months. A key question is how this social capacity develops. Maternal mirroring of infant expressions is considered an important, intuitive, parenting response, but evidence is sparse in the first two months concerning the conditions under which mirroring occurs and its developmental sequelae, including in clinical samples where the infant's social expressiveness may be affected. We investigated these questions by comparing the development of mother-infant interactions between a sample where the infant had cleft lip and a normal, unaffected, comparison sample. We videotaped dyads in their homes five times from one to ten weeks and used a microanalytic coding scheme for maternal and infant behaviours, including infant social expressions, and maternal mirroring and marking responses. We also recorded maternal gaze to the infant, using eye-tracking glasses. Although infants with cleft lip did show communicative behaviours, the rate of their development was slower than in comparison infants. This group difference was mediated by a lower rate of mirroring of infant expressions by mothers of infants with cleft lip; this effect was, in turn, partly accounted for by reduced gaze to the infant's mouth, although the clarity of infant social expressions (indexed by cleft severity) and maternal self-blame regarding the cleft were also influential. Results indicate the robustness of parent-infant interactions but also their sensitivity to specific variations in interactants' appearance and behaviour. Parental mirroring appears critical in infant social development, likely supported by the mirror neuron system and underlying clinical and, possibly, cultural differences in infant behaviour. These findings suggest new avenues for clinical intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynne Murray
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
- Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
- Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Laura Bozicevic
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
| | | | - Kyla Vaillancourt
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
| | - Louise Dalton
- Spires Cleft Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim Goodacre
- Spires Cleft Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Sarah Bicknell
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
| | - Peter Cooper
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
- Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
- Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Alan Stein
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK
- School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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39
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40
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Meltzoff AN, Murray L, Simpson E, Heimann M, Nagy E, Nadel J, Pedersen EJ, Brooks R, Messinger DS, De Pascalis L, Subiaul F, Paukner A, Ferrari PF. Eliciting imitation in early infancy. Dev Sci 2018; 22:e12738. [PMID: 30191672 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew N Meltzoff
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lynne Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Reading, Reading, UK.,Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Elizabeth Simpson
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Mikael Heimann
- Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Emese Nagy
- School of Psychology, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | | | - Eric J Pedersen
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Rechele Brooks
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Francys Subiaul
- Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Annika Paukner
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
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41
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O'Sullivan EP, Bijvoet-van den Berg S, Caldwell CA. Automatic imitation effects are influenced by experience of synchronous action in children. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 171:113-130. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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EEG beta desynchronization during hand goal-directed action observation in newborn monkeys and its relation to the emergence of hand motor skills. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018. [PMID: 29524845 PMCID: PMC6003410 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous developmental research suggests that motor experience supports the development of action perception across the lifespan. However, it is still unknown when the neural mechanisms underlying action-perception coupling emerge in infancy. The goal of this study was to examine the neural correlates of action perception during the emergence of grasping abilities in newborn rhesus macaques. Neural activity, recorded via electroencephalogram (EEG), while monkeys observed grasping actions, mimed actions and means-end movements during the first (W1) and second week (W2) of life was measured. Event-related desynchronization (ERD) during action observation was computed from the EEG in the alpha and beta bands, two components of the sensorimotor mu rhythm associated with activity of the mirror neuron system (MNS). Results revealed age-related changes in the beta band, but not the alpha band, over anterior electrodes, with greater desynchronization at W2 than W1 for the observation of grasping actions. Additionally, desynchronization to observed grasping actions at W2 was associated with infants’ motor skills – measured by a separate behavioral task – such that more grasping attempts were associated to greater beta ERD. These findings suggest the emergence of an early action-perception system, that relies on motor experience, shortly after birth.
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Xiao R, Shida-Tokeshi J, Vanderbilt DL, Smith BA. Electroencephalography power and coherence changes with age and motor skill development across the first half year of life. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0190276. [PMID: 29329316 PMCID: PMC5766131 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Existing research in infants has correlated electroencephalography (EEG) measures of power and coherence to cognitive development and to locomotor experience, but only in infants older than 5 months of age. Our goal was to explore the relationship between EEG measures of power and coherence and motor skill development in younger infants who are developing reaching skill. Twenty-one infants with typical development between 38 and 203 days of age participated. Longitudinal EEG recording sessions were recorded in monthly increments, with 3-5 sessions acquired for 19 participants and 1 session for 2 participants, resulting in 71 sessions in total. EEG variables of interest were relative power in the 6-9 Hz range and coherence between selected electrode pairs. We describe the development of the peak in relative power in the 6-9 Hz frequency band of EEG; it is not present around 1 month of age and starts to appear across the following months. Coherence generally increased in the bilateral frontal-parietal networks, while the interhemispheric connectivity in motor cortices generally decreased. The results of this relatively small pilot study provide a foundational description of neural function changes observed as motor skills are changing across the first half year of life. This is a first step in understanding experience-dependent plasticity of the infant brain and has the potential to aid in the early detection of atypical brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Xiao
- Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Joanne Shida-Tokeshi
- Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Douglas L. Vanderbilt
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Beth A. Smith
- Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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44
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Isomura T, Nakano T. Automatic facial mimicry in response to dynamic emotional stimuli in five-month-old infants. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1948. [PMID: 27974522 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human adults automatically mimic others' emotional expressions, which is believed to contribute to sharing emotions with others. Although this behaviour appears fundamental to social reciprocity, little is known about its developmental process. Therefore, we examined whether infants show automatic facial mimicry in response to others' emotional expressions. Facial electromyographic activity over the corrugator supercilii (brow) and zygomaticus major (cheek) of four- to five-month-old infants was measured while they viewed dynamic clips presenting audiovisual, visual and auditory emotions. The audiovisual bimodal emotion stimuli were a display of a laughing/crying facial expression with an emotionally congruent vocalization, whereas the visual/auditory unimodal emotion stimuli displayed those emotional faces/vocalizations paired with a neutral vocalization/face, respectively. Increased activation of the corrugator supercilii muscle in response to audiovisual cries and the zygomaticus major in response to audiovisual laughter were observed between 500 and 1000 ms after stimulus onset, which clearly suggests rapid facial mimicry. By contrast, both visual and auditory unimodal emotion stimuli did not activate the infants' corresponding muscles. These results revealed that automatic facial mimicry is present as early as five months of age, when multimodal emotional information is present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Isomura
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Tamami Nakano
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Department of Brain Physiology, Osaka University School of Medicine, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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Abstract
AbstractEmpirical studies are incompatible with the proposal that neonatal imitation is arousal driven or declining with age. Nonhuman primate studies reveal a functioning brain mirror system from birth, developmental continuity in imitation and later sociability, and the malleability of neonatal imitation, shaped by the early environment. A narrow focus on arousal effects and reflexes may grossly underestimate neonatal capacities.
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Abstract
AbstractKeven & Akins (K&A) propose a biologically plausible view of neonatal imitation based on the analysis of sensorimotor development. Here, we consider imitation in the general context of motor cognition, taking examples from both typical and atypical development. Specifically, we will discuss the functional role of imitation, its multi-level nature, and its anomalous features in autism.
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47
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Abstract
AbstractImitation is central to human development. Imitation involves mapping between the perception and production of actions. Imitation after delays implicates preverbal memory. Imitation of people informs us about infants' processing of social events. A comprehensive theory needs to account for the origins, mechanisms, and functions of imitation. Neonatal imitation illuminates how the initial state engenders and supports rapid social learning.
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48
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Abstract
AbstractKeven & Akins (K&A) propose that neonatal “imitation” is a function of newborns' spontaneous oral stereotypies and should be viewed within the context of normal aerodigestive development. Their proposal is in line with the result of our recent large longitudinal study that found no compelling evidence for neonatal imitation. Together, these works prompt reconsideration of the developmental origin of genuine imitation.
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Whiten A, van de Waal E. Social learning, culture and the ‘socio-cultural brain’ of human and non-human primates. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:58-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Ferrari PF, Barbot A, Bianchi B, Ferri A, Garofalo G, Bruno N, Coudé G, Bertolini C, Ardizzi M, Nicolini Y, Belluardo M, Stefani ED. A proposal for new neurorehabilitative intervention on Moebius Syndrome patients after 'smile surgery'. Proof of concept based on mirror neuron system properties and hand-mouth synergistic activity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 76:111-122. [PMID: 28434583 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Studies of the last twenty years on the motor and premotor cortices of primates demonstrated that the motor system is involved in the control and initiation of movements, and in higher cognitive processes, such as action understanding, imitation, and empathy. Mirror neurons are only one example of such theoretical shift. Their properties demonstrate that motor and sensory processing are coupled in the brain. Such knowledge has been also central for designing new neurorehabilitative therapies for patients suffering from brain injuries and consequent motor deficits. Moebius Syndrome patients, for example, are incapable of moving their facial muscles, which are fundamental for affective communication. These patients face an important challenge after having undergone a corrective surgery: reanimating the transplanted muscles to achieve a voluntarily control of smiling. We propose two new complementary rehabilitative approaches on MBS patients based on observation/imitation therapy (Facial Imitation Therapy, FIT) and on hand-mouth motor synergies (Synergistic Activity Therapy, SAT). Preliminary results show that our intervention protocol is a promising approach for neurorehabilitation of patients with facial palsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pier Francesco Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod UMR 5229, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Bron Cedex, France; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Anna Barbot
- Unit of Audiology and Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Bernardo Bianchi
- Maxillo-Facial Surgery Division, Head and Neck Department, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Andrea Ferri
- Maxillo-Facial Surgery Division, Head and Neck Department, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Bruno
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Gino Coudé
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod UMR 5229, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Bron Cedex, France; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Chiara Bertolini
- Unit of Audiology and Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Martina Ardizzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Ylenia Nicolini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Mauro Belluardo
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Elisa De Stefani
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
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