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Sato Y, Kitazaki M, Itakura S, Morita T, Sakuraba Y, Tomonaga M, Hirata S. Great apes' understanding of biomechanics: eye-tracking experiments using three-dimensional computer-generated animations. Primates 2021; 62:735-747. [PMID: 34302253 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00932-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Visual processing of the body movements of other animals is important for adaptive animal behaviors. It is widely known that animals can distinguish articulated animal movements even when they are just represented by points of light such that only information about biological motion is retained. However, the extent to which nonhuman great apes comprehend the underlying structural and physiological constraints affecting each moving body part, i.e., biomechanics, is still unclear. To address this, we examined the understanding of biomechanics in bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), following a previous study on humans (Homo sapiens). Apes underwent eye tracking while viewing three-dimensional computer-generated (CG) animations of biomechanically possible or impossible elbow movements performed by a human, robot, or nonhuman ape. Overall, apes did not differentiate their gaze between possible and impossible movements of elbows. However, some apes looked at elbows for longer when viewing impossible vs. possible robot movements, which indicates that they may have had knowledge of biomechanics and that this knowledge could be extended to a novel agent. These mixed results make it difficult to draw a firm conclusion regarding the extent to which apes understand biomechanics. We discuss some methodological features that may be responsible for the results, as well as implications for future nonhuman animal studies involving the presentation of CG animations or measurement of gaze behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutaro Sato
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanakasekiden, Sakyo, Kyoto, 6068203, Japan.
| | - Michiteru Kitazaki
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempakucho, Toyohashi, Aichi, 441-8580, Japan
| | - Shoji Itakura
- Center for Baby Science, Doshisha University, 4-1-1 Kizugawadai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 6190225, Japan
| | - Tomoyo Morita
- Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 5650871, Japan
| | - Yoko Sakuraba
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanakasekiden, Sakyo, Kyoto, 6068203, Japan
- Center for Research and Education of Wildlife, Kyoto City Zoo, Okazaki Koen, Okazakihoshojicho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 6068333, Japan
| | | | - Satoshi Hirata
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanakasekiden, Sakyo, Kyoto, 6068203, Japan
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2
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Addabbo M, Roberti E, Colombo L, Picciolini O, Turati C. Newborns' early attuning to hand-to-mouth coordinated actions. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13162. [PMID: 34291540 PMCID: PMC9286559 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13162] [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: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Already inside the womb, fetuses frequently bring their hands to the mouth, anticipating hand‐to‐mouth contact by opening the mouth. Here, we explored whether 2‐day‐old newborns discriminate between hand actions directed towards different targets of the face—that is, a thumb that reaches the mouth and a thumb that reaches the chin. Newborns looked longer towards the thumb‐to‐mouth compared to the thumb‐to‐chin action only in the presence, and not absence, of anticipatory mouth opening movements, preceding the thumb arrival. Overall, our results show that newborns are sensitive to hand‐to‐face coordinated actions, being capable to discriminate between body‐related actions directed towards different targets of the face, but only when a salient visual cue that anticipates the target of the action is present. The role of newborns’ sensorimotor experience with hand‐to‐mouth gestures in driving this capacity is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Roberti
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Colombo
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Odoardo Picciolini
- Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
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3
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Addabbo M, Colombo L, Picciolini O, Tagliabue P, Turati C. Newborns’ ability to match non-speech audio-visual information in the absence of temporal synchrony. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2021.1931105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Colombo
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Italy
| | - Odoardo Picciolini
- Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Italy
| | - Paolo Tagliabue
- Neonatology and Intensive Care Unit, MBBM Foundation, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
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4
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Della Longa L, Filippetti ML, Dragovic D, Farroni T. Synchrony of Caresses: Does Affective Touch Help Infants to Detect Body-Related Visual-Tactile Synchrony? Front Psychol 2020; 10:2944. [PMID: 31998194 PMCID: PMC6962176 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Bodily self-awareness, that is the ability to sense and recognize our body as our own, involves the encoding and integration of a wide range of multisensory and motor signals. Infants’ abilities to detect synchrony and bind together sensory information in time and space critically contribute to the process of gradual bodily self-awareness. In particular, early tactile experiences may have a crucial role in promoting self-other differentiation and developing bodily self-awareness. More specifically affective touch, slow and gentle touch linked to the neurophysiologically specialized system of C-tactile afferents, provides both information about the body from within (interoception) and outside (exteroception), suggesting it may be a key component contributing to the experience of bodily self-awareness. The present study aimed to investigate the role of affective touch in the formation and modulation of body perception from the earliest stages of life. Using a preferential looking task, 5-month-old infants were presented with synchronous and asynchronous visuo–tactile body-related stimuli. The socio-affective valence of the tactile stimuli was manipulated by means of the velocity [CT-optimal (slow) touch vs. CT-suboptimal (fast) touch] and the source of touch (human hand vs. brush). For the first time, we show that only infants that were stroked using a brush at slow velocity displayed a preference for the visual–tactile synchronous video, suggesting that CT-optimal touch might help infants to detect body-related visual–tactile synchrony, independently from the source of touch. Our results are in line with findings from adults and indicate that affective touch might have a critical role in the early development of bodily self-awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Letizia Della Longa
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Maria Laura Filippetti
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Health, University of Essex, Essex, United Kingdom
| | - Danica Dragovic
- Department of Pediatric Unit, Hospital of Monfalcone, Monfalcone, Italy
| | - Teresa Farroni
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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5
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Jubran R, White H, Chroust A, Heck A, Bhatt RS. Experimental Evidence of Structural Representation of Hands in Early Infancy. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2019; 43:35-42. [PMID: 30858645 PMCID: PMC6407879 DOI: 10.1177/0165025418780360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Hands convey important social information, such as an individual's emotions, goals, and desires, are used to direct attention through pointing, and are a major organ for haptic perception. However, very little is known about infants' representation of human hands. In Experiment 1, infants tested in a familiarization/novelty preference task discriminated between images of intact hands and ones that contained first-order structure distortions (i.e., with locations of fingers altered to result in an unnatural configuration). In Experiment 2, infants tested in a spontaneous preference task exhibited a preference for scrambled hand images over intact images, indicating that 3.5-month-olds have gained sufficient sensitivity to the configural properties of hands to discriminate between intact versus scrambled images without any training in the laboratory. In both procedures, infants' performance was disrupted by inversion of images, suggesting that infants' performance in the upright conditions was not based on low-level features. These results indicate that sensitivity to the structure of hands develops early in life. This early development may lay the foundation for the development of the functional use of hand information for social communication.
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6
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Dynamic facial expressions of emotions are discriminated at birth. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193868. [PMID: 29543841 PMCID: PMC5854345 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to discriminate between different facial expressions is fundamental since the first stages of postnatal life. The aim of this study is to investigate whether 2-days-old newborns are capable to discriminate facial expressions of emotions as they naturally take place in everyday interactions, that is in motion. When two dynamic displays depicting a happy and a disgusted facial expression were simultaneously presented (i.e., visual preference paradigm), newborns did not manifest any visual preference (Experiment 1). Nonetheless, after being habituated to a happy or disgusted dynamic emotional expression (i.e., habituation paradigm), newborns successfully discriminated between the two (Experiment 2). These results indicate that at birth newborns are sensitive to dynamic faces expressing emotions.
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Oakes LM. Sample size, statistical power, and false conclusions in infant looking-time research. INFANCY 2017; 22:436-469. [PMID: 28966558 PMCID: PMC5618719 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Infant research is hard. It is difficult, expensive, and time consuming to identify, recruit and test infants. As a result, ours is a field of small sample sizes. Many studies using infant looking time as a measure have samples of 8 to 12 infants per cell, and studies with more than 24 infants per cell are uncommon. This paper examines the effect of such sample sizes on statistical power and the conclusions drawn from infant looking time research. An examination of the state of the current literature suggests that most published looking time studies have low power, which leads in the long run to an increase in both false positive and false negative results. Three data sets with large samples (>30 infants) were used to simulate experiments with smaller sample sizes; 1000 random subsamples of 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 infants from the overall samples were selected, making it possible to examine the systematic effect of sample size on the results. This approach revealed that despite clear results with the original large samples, the results with smaller subsamples were highly variable, yielding both false positive and false negative outcomes. Finally, a number of emerging possible solutions are discussed.
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Senna I, Addabbo M, Bolognini N, Longhi E, Macchi Cassia V, Turati C. Infants' Visual Recognition of Pincer Grip Emerges Between 9 and 12 Months of Age. INFANCY 2016; 22:389-402. [PMID: 33158356 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The development of the ability to recognize the whole human body shape has long been investigated in infants, while less is known about their ability to recognize the shape of single body parts, and in particular their biomechanical constraints. This study aimed to explore whether 9- and 12-month-old infants have knowledge of a hand-grasping movement (i.e., pincer grip), being able to recognize violations of the hand's anatomical constraints during the observation of that movement. Using a preferential looking paradigm, we showed that 12-month-olds discriminate between biomechanically possible and impossible pincer grips, preferring the former over the latter (Experiment 1). This capacity begins to emerge by 9 months of age, modulated by infants' own sensorimotor experience with pincer grip (Experiment 2). Our findings indicate that the ability to visually discriminate between pincer grasps differing in their biomechanical properties develops between 9 and 12 months of age, and that experience with self-produced hand movements might help infants in building a representation of the hand that encompasses knowledge of the physical constraints of this body part.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Senna
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department and Cognitive Interaction Technology-Center of Excellence, Bielefeld University.,Department of Psychology & NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milan-Bicocca
| | - Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology & NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milan-Bicocca
| | - Nadia Bolognini
- Department of Psychology & NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milan-Bicocca.,Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Istituto Auxologico Italiano
| | - Elena Longhi
- Department of Psychology & NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milan-Bicocca.,Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London
| | - Viola Macchi Cassia
- Department of Psychology & NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milan-Bicocca
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology & NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milan-Bicocca
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9
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Erratum. Child Dev 2016; 87:1311. [DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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10
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Heck A, Hock A, White H, Jubran R, Bhatt RS. The development of attention to dynamic facial emotions. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 147:100-10. [PMID: 27064842 PMCID: PMC5191507 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2016] [Revised: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Appropriate processing of emotions is paramount for successful social functioning. Adults' enhanced attention to negative emotions such as fear is thought to be a critical aspect of this adaptive functioning. Prior studies indicate that increased attention to fear relative to positive or neutral emotions begins at around 7months of age, and it has been suggested that this negativity bias is related to self-locomotion. However, these studies mostly used static faces, potentially limiting information available to the infants. In the current study, 3.5-month-olds (n=24) and 5-month-olds (n=24) were exposed to dynamic faces expressing fear, happy, or neutral emotions and a distracting peripheral checkerboard. The 5-month-olds looked proportionally longer at the face compared with the checkerboard when the face was fearful than when it was happy or neutral. Conversely, the 3.5-month-olds did not differentiate their attention as a function of emotion. These results indicate that the onset of enhanced attention to fear occurs between 3.5 and 5months of age. This finding raises questions about the developmental mechanisms that drive attentional bias given that the idea of the onset of self-locomotion being a catalyst for the development of negativity bias might no longer hold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Heck
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Alyson Hock
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Hannah White
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Rachel Jubran
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Ramesh S Bhatt
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
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11
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Bhatt RS, Hock A, White H, Jubran R, Galati A. The Development of Body Structure Knowledge in Infancy. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2016; 10:45-52. [PMID: 28663770 PMCID: PMC5486992 DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although we know much about the development of face processing, we know considerably less about the development of body knowledge-despite bodies also being significant sources of social information. One set of studies indicated that body structure knowledge is poor during the 1st year of life and spawned a model that posits that, unlike the development of face knowledge, which benefits from innate propensities and dedicated learning mechanisms, the development of body knowledge relies on general learning mechanisms and develops slowly. In this article, we review studies on infants' knowledge about the structure of bodies and their processing of gender and emotion that paint a different picture. Although questions remain, a general social cognition system likely engenders similar trajectories of development of knowledge about faces and bodies, and may equip developing infants with the capacity to obtain socially critical information from many sources.
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12
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Addabbo M, Longhi E, Bolognini N, Senna I, Tagliabue P, Macchi Cassia V, Turati C. Seeing Touches Early in Life. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0134549. [PMID: 26366563 PMCID: PMC4569186 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 07/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The sense of touch provides fundamental information about the surrounding world, and feedback about our own actions. Although touch is very important during the earliest stages of life, to date no study has investigated infants’ abilities to process visual stimuli implying touch. This study explores the developmental origins of the ability to visually recognize touching gestures involving others. Looking times and orienting responses were measured in a visual preference task, in which participants were simultaneously presented with two videos depicting a touching and a no-touching gesture involving human body parts (face, hand) and/or an object (spoon). In Experiment 1, 2-day-old newborns and 3-month-old infants viewed two videos: in one video a moving hand touched a static face, in the other the moving hand stopped before touching it. Results showed that only 3-month-olds, but not newborns, differentiated the touching from the no-touching gesture, displaying a preference for the former over the latter. To test whether newborns could manifest a preferential visual response when the touched body part is different from the face, in Experiment 2 newborns were presented with touching/no-touching gestures in which a hand or an inanimate object—i.e., a spoon- moved towards a static hand. Newborns were able to discriminate a hand-to-hand touching gesture, but they did not manifest any preference for the object-to-hand touch. The present findings speak in favour of an early ability to visually recognize touching gestures involving the interaction between human body parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126, Milano, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Elena Longhi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126, Milano, Italy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nadia Bolognini
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126, Milano, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy
| | - Irene Senna
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126, Milano, Italy
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department and Cognitive Interaction Technology-Center of Excellence, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Paolo Tagliabue
- Neonatology and Intensive Care Unit, MBBM Foundation, San Gerardo Hospital, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Viola Macchi Cassia
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126, Milano, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126, Milano, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy
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Quadrelli E, Turati C. Origins and development of mirroring mechanisms: A neuroconstructivist framework. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015; 34:6-23. [DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2015] [Revised: 07/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ermanno Quadrelli
- Department of Psychology; University of Milano-Bicocca; Italy
- NeuroMI; Milan Center for Neuroscience; Italy
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology; University of Milano-Bicocca; Italy
- NeuroMI; Milan Center for Neuroscience; Italy
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14
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Body maps in the infant brain. Trends Cogn Sci 2015; 19:499-505. [PMID: 26231760 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Revised: 06/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have examined representations of the body in the adult brain but relatively little attention has been paid to ontogenetic aspects of neural body maps in human infants. Novel applications of methods for recording brain activity in infants are delineating cortical body maps in the first months of life. Body maps may facilitate infants' registration of similarities between self and other - an ability that is foundational to developing social cognition. Alterations in interpersonal aspects of body representations might also contribute to social deficits in certain neurodevelopmental disorders.
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