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Dehaene-Lambertz G. Perceptual Awareness in Human Infants: What is the Evidence? J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:1599-1609. [PMID: 38527095 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Perceptual awareness in infants during the first year of life is understudied, despite the philosophical, scientific, and clinical importance of understanding how and when consciousness emerges during human brain development. Although parents are undoubtedly convinced that their infant is conscious, the lack of adequate experimental paradigms to address this question in preverbal infants has been a hindrance to research on this topic. However, recent behavioral and brain imaging studies have shown that infants are engaged in complex learning from an early age and that their brains are more structured than traditionally thought. I will present a rapid overview of these results, which might provide indirect evidence of early perceptual awareness and then describe how a more systematic approach to this question could stand within the framework of global workspace theory, which identifies specific signatures of conscious perception in adults. Relying on these brain signatures as a benchmark for conscious perception, we can deduce that it exists in the second half of the first year, whereas the evidence before the age of 5 months is less solid, mainly because of the paucity of studies. The question of conscious perception before term remains open, with the possibility of short periods of conscious perception, which would facilitate early learning. Advances in brain imaging and growing interest in this subject should enable us to gain a better understanding of this important issue in the years to come.
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2
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Dou H, Wang H, Liu S, Huang J, Liu Z, Zhou T, Yang Y. Form Properties of Moving Targets Bias Smooth Pursuit Target Selection in Monkeys. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:1246-1262. [PMID: 36689042 PMCID: PMC10387034 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-023-01022-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
During natural viewing, we often recognize multiple objects, detect their motion, and select one object as the target to track. It remains to be determined how such behavior is guided by the integration of visual form and motion perception. To address this, we studied how monkeys made a choice to track moving targets with different forms by smooth pursuit eye movements in a two-target task. We found that pursuit responses were biased toward the motion direction of a target with a hole. By computing the relative weighting, we found that the target with a hole exhibited a larger weight for vector computation. The global hole feature dominated other form properties. This dominance failed to account for changes in pursuit responses to a target with different forms moving singly. These findings suggest that the integration of visual form and motion perception can reshape the competition in sensorimotor networks to guide behavioral selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huixi Dou
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China
| | - Huan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Sainan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Jun Huang
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China
| | - Zuxiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Tiangang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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3
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Nava E, Turati C. Preverbal infants tune manual choices on subliminal affective information. Infant Behav Dev 2022; 69:101774. [PMID: 36122534 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2022.101774] [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: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Human behaviour is often shaped by unconscious emotional cues. From early on, infants are able to process emotional signals even if presented subliminally; however, whether subliminal emotional expressions are capable to affect infants' behaviour remains unknown. The current study aimed to fill this gap, recording 8-10-month-old infants' looking time and manual choice toward two objects previously associated to subliminal emotional faces. Results demonstrated that infants' manual choice, but not looking time, was guided by the previously presented subliminal emotional signal, as infants preferred to choose the object associated to the happy face. Overall, our findings show that preverbal infants tune their behaviour based on affective information, which drives them towards or away from previous encounters, even outside conscious awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Nava
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy.
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy
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4
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Ayzenberg V, Lourenco S. Perception of an object's global shape is best described by a model of skeletal structure in human infants. eLife 2022; 11:e74943. [PMID: 35612898 PMCID: PMC9132572 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Categorization of everyday objects requires that humans form representations of shape that are tolerant to variations among exemplars. Yet, how such invariant shape representations develop remains poorly understood. By comparing human infants (6-12 months; N=82) to computational models of vision using comparable procedures, we shed light on the origins and mechanisms underlying object perception. Following habituation to a never-before-seen object, infants classified other novel objects across variations in their component parts. Comparisons to several computational models of vision, including models of high-level and low-level vision, revealed that infants' performance was best described by a model of shape based on the skeletal structure. Interestingly, infants outperformed a range of artificial neural network models, selected for their massive object experience and biological plausibility, under the same conditions. Altogether, these findings suggest that robust representations of shape can be formed with little language or object experience by relying on the perceptually invariant skeletal structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stella Lourenco
- Department of Psychology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
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5
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Wang C, Lian R, Dong X, Mi Y, Wu S. A Neural Network Model With Gap Junction for Topological Detection. Front Comput Neurosci 2020; 14:571982. [PMID: 33178003 PMCID: PMC7591819 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2020.571982] [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: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual information processing in the brain goes from global to local. A large volume of experimental studies has suggested that among global features, the brain perceives the topological information of an image first. Here, we propose a neural network model to elucidate the underlying computational mechanism. The model consists of two parts. The first part is a neural network in which neurons are coupled through gap junctions, mimicking the neural circuit formed by alpha ganglion cells in the retina. Gap junction plays a key role in the model, which, on one hand, facilitates the synchronized firing of a neuron group covering a connected region of an image, and on the other hand, staggers the firing moments of different neuron groups covering disconnected regions of the image. These two properties endow the network with the capacity of detecting the connectivity and closure of images. The second part of the model is a read-out neuron, which reads out the topological information that has been converted into the number of synchronized firings in the retina network. Our model provides a simple yet effective mechanism for the neural system to detect the topological information of images in ultra-speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoming Wang
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China.,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei, China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Risheng Lian
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China
| | - Xingsi Dong
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanyuan Mi
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Si Wu
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China.,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei, China
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6
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Watanabe A, Fujimoto M, Hirai K, Ushitani T. Pigeons discriminate shapes based on topological features. Vision Res 2019; 158:120-125. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2018] [Revised: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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7
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Shuwairi SM. Haptic exploration of depicted and real objects by 9‐month‐old infants. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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8
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Meng Q, Wang B, Cui D, Liu N, Huang Y, Chen L, Ma Y. Age-related changes in local and global visual perception. J Vis 2019; 19:10. [DOI: 10.1167/19.1.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Qianli Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ding Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Huang
- The Brain Cognition & Brain Disease Institute for Collaboration Research of SIAT at CAS and The McGovern Institute at MIT, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University Town of Shenzhen, XiliNanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Lin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanye Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Laboratory of Primates Model for Brain Disease, Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
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9
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Meng Q, Huang Y, Cui D, He L, Chen L, Ma Y, Zhao X. The dissociations of visual processing of "hole" and "no-hole" stimuli: An functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Brain Behav 2018; 8:e00979. [PMID: 29761025 PMCID: PMC5943751 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION "Where to begin" is a fundamental question of vision. A "Global-first" topological approach proposed that the first step in object representation was to extract topological properties, especially whether the object had a hole or not. Numerous psychophysical studies found that the hole (closure) could be rapidly recognized by visual system as a primitive property. However, neuroimaging studies showed that the temporal lobe (IT), which lied at a late stage of ventral pathway, was involved as a dedicated region. It appeared paradoxical that IT served as a key region for processing the early component of visual information. Did there exist a distinct fast route to transit hole information to IT? We hypothesized that a fast noncortical pathway might participate in processing holes. METHODS To address this issue, a backward masking paradigm combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was applied to measure neural responses to hole and no-hole stimuli in anatomically defined cortical and subcortical regions of interest (ROIs) under different visual awareness levels by modulating masking delays. RESULTS For no-hole stimuli, the neural activation of cortical sites was greatly attenuated when the no-hole perception was impaired by strong masking, whereas an enhanced neural response to hole stimuli in non-cortical sites was obtained when the stimulus was rendered more invisible. CONCLUSIONS The results suggested that whereas the cortical route was required to drive a perceptual response for no-hole stimuli, a subcortical route might be involved in coding the hole feature, resulting in a rapid hole perception in primitive vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianli Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology Beijing China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Yan Huang
- The Brain Cognition & Brain Disease Institute for Collaboration Research of SIAT at CAS and the McGovern Institute at MIT Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences University Town of Shenzhen Shenzhen China
| | - Ding Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology Beijing China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Lixia He
- Paralign Inc. San Francisco California
| | - Lin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology Beijing China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Yuanye Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology Beijing China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research Kunming University of Science and Technology Kunming China
| | - Xudong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology Beijing China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
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10
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Craighero L, Lunghi M, Leo I, Ghirardi V, Simion F. Newborns’ attention is driven by the translational movement. VISUAL COGNITION 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2017.1322651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laila Craighero
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Chirurgico specialistiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Lunghi
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Irene Leo
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Ghirardi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Chirurgico specialistiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Francesca Simion
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
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11
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Damon F, Quinn PC, Heron-Delaney M, Lee K, Pascalis O. Development of category formation for faces differing by age in 9- to 12-month-olds: An effect of experience with infant faces. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 34:582-597. [PMID: 27393740 PMCID: PMC5064872 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We examined category formation for faces differing in age in 9- and 12-month-olds, and the influence of exposure to infant faces on such ability. Infants were familiarized with adult or infant faces, and then tested with a novel exemplar from the familiarized category paired with a novel exemplar from a novel category (Experiment 1). Both age groups formed discrete categories of adult and infant faces, but exposure to infant faces in everyday life did not modulate performance. The same task was conducted with child versus infant faces (Experiment 2). Whereas 9-month-olds preferred infant faces after familiarization with child faces, but not child faces after familiarization with infant faces, 12-month-olds formed discrete categories of child and infant faces. Moreover, more exposure to infant faces correlated with higher novel category preference scores when infants were familiarized with infant faces in 12-month-olds, but not 9-month-olds. The 9-month-old asymmetry did not reflect spontaneous preference for infant over child faces (Experiment 3). These findings indicate that 9- and 12-month-olds can form age-based categories of faces. The ability of 12-month-olds to form separate child and infant categories suggests that they have a more exclusive representation of face age, one that may be influenced by prior experience with infant faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrice Damon
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, LPNC, Grenoble, France.
- CNRS, LPNC, UMR, Grenoble, France.
| | - Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | | | - Kang Lee
- Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, LPNC, Grenoble, France
- CNRS, LPNC, UMR, Grenoble, France
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12
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Kibbe MM, Leslie AM. The ring that does not bind: Topological class in infants’ working memory for objects. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2015.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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13
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Verdine BN, Lucca KR, Golinkoff RM, Hirsh-Pasek K, Newcombe NS. The Shape of Things: The Origin of Young Children's Knowledge of the Names and Properties of Geometric Forms. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2015; 17:142-161. [PMID: 27019647 DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2015.1016610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
How do toddlers learn the names of geometric forms? Past work suggests that preschoolers have fragmentary knowledge and that defining properties are not understood until well into elementary school. The current study investigates when children first begin to understand shape names and how they apply those labels to unusual instances. We tested 25- and 30-month-old children's (N = 30 each) understanding of names for canonical shapes (commonly-encountered instances, e.g., equilateral triangles), non-canonical shapes (more irregular instances, e.g., scalene triangles), and embedded shapes (shapes within a larger picture, e.g., triangular slices of pizza). At 25 months, children know very few names, including those for canonical shapes. By 30 months, however, children have acquired more shape names, and are beginning to apply them to some of the less typical instances of the shapes. Possible mechanisms driving this initial development of shape knowledge and implications of that development for school readiness are explored.
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14
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Abstract
Previous studies with young infants revealed that young infants can distinguish between displays of possible or impossible figures, which may require detection of inconsistent depth relations among local line junctions that disrupt global object configurations. Here, we used an eye-tracking paradigm to record eye movements in young infants during an object discrimination task with matched pairs of possible and impossible figures. Our goal was to identify differential patterns of oculomotor activity as infants viewed pictures of possible and impossible objects. We predicted that infants would actively attend to specific pictorial depth cues that denote shape (e.g., T-junctions), and in the context of an impossible figure that they would fixate to a greater extent in anomalous regions of the display relative to other parts. By the age of 4 months, infants fixated reliably longer overall on displays of impossible vs. possible cubes, specifically within the critical region where the incompatible lines and irreconcilable depth relations were located, implying an early capacity for selective attention to critical line junction information and integration of local depth cues necessary to perceive object coherence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Shuwairi
- New York University, Department of Psychology, 6 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003,
| | - Scott P. Johnson
- UCLA Psychology, Developmental, Box 951563, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563,
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15
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Zhu W, Zhang J, Zhou C. Time-course of perceptual processing of "hole" and "no-hole" figures: an ERP study. Neurosci Bull 2012; 29:47-57. [PMID: 23271619 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-012-1290-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2012] [Accepted: 06/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Closure or the presence of a "hole" is an emergent perceptual feature that can be extracted by the visual system early on. This feature has been shown to have perceptual advantages over openness or "no-hole". in this study, we investigated when and how the human brain differentiates between "hole" and "no-hole" figures. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a passive observation paradigm. Two pairs of simple figures (Experiment 1) and two sets of Greek letters (Experiment 2) were used as stimuli. The ERPs of "hole" and "no-hole" figures differed ∼90 ms after stimulus onset: "hole" figures elicited smaller P1 and N1 amplitudes than "no-hole" figures. These suggest that both P1 and N1 components are sensitive to the difference between "hole" and "no-hole" figures; perception of "hole" and "no-hole" figures might be differentiated early during visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weina Zhu
- School of Information Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650092, China.
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16
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Abstract
To examine key parameters of the initial conditions in early category learning, two studies compared 5-month-olds' object categorization between tasks involving previously unseen novel objects, and between measures within tasks. Infants in Experiment 1 participated in a visual familiarization / novelty preference (VFNP) task with 2D stimulus images. Infants provided no evidence of categorization by either their looking or their examining even though infants in previous research systematically categorized the same objects by examining when they handled them in 3D. Infants in Experiment 2 participated in a VFNP task with 3D stimulus objects that allowed visual examination of objects' 3D instantiation while denying manual contact with the objects. Under these conditions, infants demonstrated categorization by examining but not by looking. Focused examination appears to be a key component of young infants' ability to form category representations of novel objects, and 3D instantiation appears to better engage such examining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clay Mash
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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17
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Chien SHL, Lin YL, Qian W, Zhou K, Lin MK, Hsu HY. With or without a Hole: Young Infants' Sensitivity for Topological versus Geometric Property. Perception 2012; 41:305-18. [DOI: 10.1068/p7031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Evidence from adult psychophysics, brain imaging, and honeybee's behaviour has been reported to support the notion that topological properties are the primitives of visual representation (Chen, 1982 Science218 699–700). Here, we ask how the sensitivity to topological property might originate during development. Specifically, we tested 1.5- to 6-month-old infants' visual sensitivity for topological versus geometric properties with the forced-choice novelty preference technique. A disk and a ring were used in the topologically different condition (experiment 1), while a disk and a triangle were used in the geometrically different condition (experiment 2). Spontaneous preferences for the disk, the ring, and the triangle were measured pairwise using the preferential looking-time technique (experiment 3). The results showed that infants could reliably discriminate stimuli based on topological differences, but failed to do so with geometric differences. Moreover, in the generalisation task, infants showed higher novelty preference for the topologically different figure (the ring). In addition, the results of both experiments cannot be attributed to a spontaneous preference for the ring or for the disk. Further analysis on individual infants' age and performance revealed two distinct developmental trends. Infants seem to be sensitive to topological differences as young as 1.5 months, while their ability to discriminate geometric differences was at chance before 3 months and gradually improved with age. Taken together, our findings suggested an early sensitivity for topological property, at least for the detection of stimuli with or without a hole.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yun-Lan Lin
- Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, No 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, Taiwan 40402, Republic of China
| | - Wenli Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, People's Republic of China
| | - Ke Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, People's Republic of China
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18
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Quinn PC, Anzures G, Izard CE, Lee K, Pascalis O, Slater AM, Tanaka JW. Looking Across Domains to Understand Infant Representation of Emotion. EMOTION REVIEW 2011; 3:197-206. [PMID: 21572929 PMCID: PMC3092399 DOI: 10.1177/1754073910387941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
A comparison of the literatures on how infants represent generic object classes, gender and race information in faces, and emotional expressions reveals both common and distinctive developments in the three domains. In addition, the review indicates that some very basic questions remain to be answered regarding how infants represent facial displays of emotion, including (a) whether infants form category representations for discrete classes of emotion, when and how such representations come(b) to incorporate affective meaning, (c) the developmental trajectory for representation of emotional expression at different levels of inclusiveness (i.e., from broad to narrow or narrow to broad?), and (d) whether there is superior discrimination ability operating within more frequently experienced emotion categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, USA
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19
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Johnson SP. Development of visual perception. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2010; 2:515-528. [PMID: 26302303 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Processes of visual development that yield a view of the world as coherent and stable begin well before birth and extend over the first several years after the onset of visual experience. Infants are born capable of seeing and with specific preferences that guide the point of gaze to relevant portions of the visual scene to support learning about objects and faces. Visual development after birth is characterized by critical periods in many notable visual functions, and by extensive learning from experience and increasing control over eye movement systems. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 515-528 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.128 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Anzures G, Quinn PC, Pascalis O, Slater AM, Lee K. Categorization, categorical perception, and asymmetry in infants' representation of face race. Dev Sci 2010; 13:553-64. [PMID: 20590720 PMCID: PMC3724535 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00900.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined whether 6- and 9-month-old Caucasian infants could categorize faces according to race. In Experiment 1, infants were familiarized with different female faces from a common ethnic background (i.e. either Caucasian or Asian) and then tested with female faces from a novel race category. Nine-month-olds were able to form discrete categories of Caucasian and Asian faces. However, 6-month-olds did not form discrete categories of faces based on race. In Experiment 2, a second group of 6- and 9-month-olds was tested to determine whether they could discriminate between different faces from the same race category. Results showed that both age groups could only discriminate between different faces from the own-race category of Caucasian faces. The findings of the two experiments taken together suggest that 9-month-olds formed a category of Caucasian faces that are further differentiated at the individual level. In contrast, although they could form a category of Asian faces, they could not discriminate between such other-race faces. This asymmetry in category formation at 9 months (i.e. categorization of own-race faces vs. categorical perception of other-race faces) suggests that differential experience with own- and other-race faces plays an important role in infants' acquisition of face processing abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gizelle Anzures
- Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Paul C. Quinn
- Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, USA
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- Department of Psychology, Université Pierre Mendes France, France
| | | | - Kang Lee
- Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada
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Shuwairi SM. Preference for impossible figures in 4-month-olds. J Exp Child Psychol 2008; 104:115-23. [PMID: 19038399 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2008.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2008] [Revised: 09/30/2008] [Accepted: 10/01/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Can infants use interposition and line junction cues to infer three-dimensional (3D) structure? Previous work has shown that in a task that required 4-month-olds to discriminate between static two-dimensional (2D) pictures of possible and impossible cubes, infants exhibited a spontaneous preference for displays of the impossible cube but left open the question of whether they did so on the basis of purely local "critical regions" or whether they were able to employ more global clues. Here infants were presented with possible and impossible cubes in which the strictly local cues that could have derived from exterior binding contours were deleted. Results showed that infants were still able to discriminate possible cubes from impossible cubes, suggesting that longer looking infants are sensitive to global properties and that the capacity to integrate pictorial information to perceive aspects of global 3D shape may develop earlier than demonstrated previously using reaching tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Shuwairi
- Department of Psychology, Lehman College, City University of New York, Bronx, NY 10468, USA.
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Gava L, Valenza E, Turati C, de Schonen S. Effect of partial occlusion on newborns' face preference and recognition. Dev Sci 2008; 11:563-74. [PMID: 18576964 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00702.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have shown that newborns prefer (e.g. Goren, Sarty & Wu, 1975; Valenza, Simion, Macchi Cassia & Umiltà, 1996) and recognize (e.g. Bushnell, Say & Mullin, 1989; Pascalis & de Schonen, 1994) faces. However, it is not known whether, at birth, faces are still preferred and recognized when some of their parts are not visible because hindered by other configurations, that is when faces are partly occluded. Also, it is not known whether newborns' preference for an upright over an inverted face and newborns' face recognition are differentially affected depending on the salience of the occluded face features. Seventy-seven newborns (mean age of 43.5 hrs) were tested using the preferential looking (Experiment 1) and the habituation techniques (Experiment 2). Results demonstrated that newborns prefer and recognize occluded faces even if some portions of them are not available, at least when the hindered features are not salient. On the contrary, these abilities are affected by obscuring high salience facial features (i.e. eyes). However, while in the case of face detection, eyes occlusion completely prevented newborns' face detection, in the case of face recognition an analogous stimulus manipulation heavily impaired, but did not totally preclude, newborns' recognition performance. The data collected improve our comprehension of newborns' way of processing and encoding information to detect and recognize faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Gava
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Italy.
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Abstract
Previous research, in which static figures were used, showed that the ability to perceive illusory contours emerges around 7 months of age. However, recently, evidence has suggested that 2-3-month-old infants are able to perceive illusory contours when motion information is available (Johnson & Mason, 2002; Otsuka & Yamaguchi, 2003). The present study was aimed at investigating whether even newborns might perceive kinetic illusory contours when a motion easily detected by the immature newborn's visual system (i.e. stroboscopic motion) is used. In Experiment 1, using a preference looking technique, newborns' perception of kinetic illusory contours was explored using a Kanizsa figure in a static and in a kinetic display. The results showed that newborns manifest a preference for the illusory contours only in the kinetic, but not in the static, condition. In Experiment 2, using an habituation technique, newborns were habituated to a moving shape that was matched with the background in terms of random-texture-surface; thus the recovery of the shape was possible relying only on kinetic information. The results showed that infants manifested a novelty preference when presented with luminance-defined familiar and novel shapes. Altogether these findings provide evidence that motion enhances (Experiment 1) and sometimes is sufficient (Experiment 2) to induce newborns' perception of illusory contours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eloisa Valenza
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università di Padova, via Venezia 8, 35131 Padua, Italy.
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Valenza E, Zulian L, Leoy I. The Role of Perceptual Skills in Newborns' Perception of Partly Occluded Objects. INFANCY 2005; 8:1-20. [DOI: 10.1207/s15327078in0801_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Abstract
Visual preference procedures were used to investigate development of perceptually based subordinate-level categorization in 3- to 7-month-old infants. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that 3- to 4-month-olds did not form category representations for photographic exemplars of subordinate-level classes of cats and dogs (i.e., Siamese vs. Tabby, Beagle vs. Saint Bernard). Experiments 3 though 5 showed that 6- and 7-month-olds formed a category representation for Tabby that excluded Siamese and a category representation for Saint Bernard that excluded Beagle, but they did not form a category representation for Siamese that excluded Tabby or a category representation for Beagle that excluded Saint Bernard. The findings are consistent with a differentiation-driven view of early perceptual category development from global to basic to subordinate levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark, 19716, USA.
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