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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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Monroy C, Chen CH, Houston D, Yu C. Action prediction during real-time parent-infant interactions. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13042. [PMID: 33030770 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions provide a crucial context for early learning and cognitive development during infancy. Action prediction-the ability to anticipate an observed action-facilitates successful, coordinated interaction and is an important social-cognitive skill in early development. However, current knowledge about infant action prediction comes largely from screen-based laboratory tasks. We know little about what infants' action prediction skills look like during real-time, free-flowing interactions with a social partner. In the current study, we used head-mounted eyetracking to quantify 9-month-old infants' visual anticipations of their parents' actions during free-flowing parent-child play. Our findings reveal that infants do anticipate their parents' actions during dynamic interactions at rates significantly higher than would be expected by chance. In addition, the frequency with which they do so is associated with child-led joint attention and hand-eye coordination. These findings are the first to reveal infants' action prediction behaviors in a more naturalistic context than prior screen-based studies, and they support the idea that action prediction is inherently linked to motor development and plays an important role in infants' social-cognitive development. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HrmcicfiqE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Monroy
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Chi-Hsin Chen
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Derek Houston
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA.,Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Chen Yu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Monroy C, Gerson S, Hunnius S. Infants' Motor Proficiency and Statistical Learning for Actions. Front Psychol 2017; 8:2174. [PMID: 29375414 PMCID: PMC5770741 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior research has shown that infants learn statistical regularities in action sequences better than they learn non-action event sequences. This is consistent with current theories claiming that the same mechanism guides action observation and action execution. The current eye-tracking study tested the prediction, based on these theories, that infants' ability to learn statistical regularities in action sequences is modulated by their own motor abilities. Eight- to eleven-month-old infants observed an action sequence containing two deterministic action pairs (i.e., action A always followed by action B) embedded within an otherwise random sequence. One pair was performed with a whole-hand grasp. The second pair was performed with a pincer grasp, a fine motor skill that emerges around 9 months of age. Infants were then categorized into groups according to which grasp was dominant in their motor repertoire. Predictive looks to correct upcoming actions during the deterministic pairs were analyzed to measure whether infants learned and anticipated the sequence regularities. Findings indicate that infants learned the statistical regularities: across motor groups, they made more correct than incorrect predictive fixations to upcoming actions. Overall, learning was not significantly modulated by their dominant grasping abilities. However, infants with a dominant pincer grasp showed an earlier increase in correct predictions for the pincer grasp pair and not the whole-hand grasp. Likewise, infants with a dominant whole-hand grasp showed an early increase in correct predictions for the pair performed with a whole-hand grasp, and not the pincer grasp. Together, these findings suggest that infants' ability to learn action sequences is facilitated when the observed action matches their own action repertoire. However, findings cannot be explained entirely by motor accounts, as infants also learned the actions less congruent with their own abilities. Findings are discussed in terms of the interplay between the motor system and additional non-motor resources during the acquisition of new motor skills in infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Monroy
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Sarah Gerson
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Sabine Hunnius
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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