Spatiotemporal neurodynamics of automatic temporal expectancy in 9-month old infants

open2noAnticipating events occurrence (Temporal Expectancy) is a crucial capacity for survival. Yet, there is little evidence about the presence of cortical anticipatory activity from infancy. In this study we recorded the High-density electrophysiological activity in 9 month-old infants and adults undergoing an audio-visual S1-S2 paradigm simulating a lifelike "Peekaboo" game inducing automatic temporal expectancy of smiling faces. The results indicate in the S2-preceding Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) an early electrophysiological signature of expectancy-based anticipatory cortical activity. Moreover, the progressive CNV amplitude increasing across the task suggested that implicit temporal rule learning is at the basis of expectancy building-up over time. Cortical source reconstruction suggested a common CNV generator between adults and infants in the right prefrontal cortex. The decrease in the activity of this area across the task (time-on-task effect) further implied an early, core role of this region in implicit temporal rule learning. By contrast, a time-on-task activity boost was found in the supplementary motor area (SMA) in adults and in the temporoparietal regions in infants. Altogether, our findings suggest that the capacity of the human brain to translate temporal predictions into anticipatory neural activity emerges ontogenetically early, although the underlying spatiotemporal cortical dynamics change across development. © 2016 The Author(s).openMento, Giovanni; Valenza, EloisaMento, Giovanni; Valenza, Elois

Azione e cognizione: uno studio sull'effetto del movimento nella percezione del tempo

A feature of temporal cognition is that it is built on properties linked to action (i.e., duration, speed and rhythm). It is therefore plausible to assume that temporal perception and representation are affected by motor experience. The present study investigated the influence of movement in a time-estimation task (i.e., to beat a drum concurrently with a rhythmic sound acoustically perceived) in the presence (i.e., experimental group) or in the absence (i.e., control group) of a movement performed between two subsequent beats. Findings showed that experimental group is more accurate than control group probably because it benefited of more information: those from the soundtrack and those from the proprioceptive sensors involved in the movement of the arm

Processi cognitivi presenti alla nascita: attenzione, memoria, percezione.

This review analyses the most representative research contribution on the study of cognitive processes at birth. The examined works investigated: 1) which information newborn infant's eye can detect and how this information is sent to visual cortex (pattern detection); 2) which stimulus features newborn infant can discriminate and which she/he prefers; 3) if newborn infant can memorize the information that she/he detected; 4) which perceptual capabilities there are at birth. It is suggested to explain the results of the researches examined within the theoretical model suggested by Leslie Cohen (1988)

Predisposizioni innate e architettura della mente: il caso del volto.

The aim of this review is to present some theoretical issues concerning the recognition of faces in adults. In the light of these considerations, data concerning the preference for facelike patterns in newborns will be discussed. Taken together the reported data suggest that newborns possess a device that is specifically tuned to process structural information concerning the visual characteristics of the face, and that it displays some properties of the modular systems. In accord with Karmiloff-Smith (1991), it is assumed that neonates are pre-programmed to attend to some classes of relevant environmental input, and that these initial predispositions determine the entities on which subsequent learning processes will take place

Il costruttivismo di Piaget

In questo capitolo verr\ue0 presentata la teoria stadiale elaborata da Piaget per descrivere il comportamento dell\u2019individuo nelle varie fasi dello sviluppo. Verranno dapprima sintetizzate le caratteristiche degli stadi con la descrizione, a titolo esemplificativo, di alcuni comportamenti specifici. Questo consentir\ue0 al lettore di capire su quale tipo di osservazioni si \ue8 basato Piaget per inferire le caratteristiche delle strutture cognitive sottostanti a ciascuno stadio. Verranno poi illustrati i fattori e i meccanismi responsabili del cambiamento cognitivo e la la spiegazione proposta relativamente alla nascita dell\u2019intelligenza, ossia alla genesi delle strutture operatorie del pensiero. In questo modo si chiarisce come le strutture cognitive si modifichino per adattarsi all\u2019ambiente. Il capitolo si conclude con la presentazione delle risposte fornite dalla teoria costruttivista alle domande centrali della psicologia dello sviluppo

Face preference at birth: A modular hypothesis.

This chapter presents some issues come from adult studies on face processing. Based on these issues the results of face preference at birth are discussed. The results suggest that newborns have an innate mechanism specifically devoted to process some information concerning the structure of facial properties. According to Karmiloff-Smith (1991), it is supposed that neonates are pre-programmed to attend to some classes of relevant enviromental input that determine the entities on which subsequent learning takes place

L'approccio connessionista

In questo capitolo verr\ue0 presentato l\u2019approccio connessionista che, come quello cognitivista, si \ue8 inizialmente sviluppato nell\u2019ambito della psicologia generale e solo in un secondo momento \ue8 stato adottato da alcuni studiosi dello sviluppo cognitivo come un potente strumento metodologico per descrivere e spiegare il cambiamento cognitivo. Cercheremo pertanto di evidenziare i pregi di questo peculiare strumento di indagine; in seguito analizzeremo le caratteristiche principali delle reti neurali, che costituiscono i modelli teorici e metodologici attraverso i quali l\u2019approccio connessionista indaga, simulandoli, l\u2019architettura e il funzionamento della mente. Infine, cercheremo di mettere in evidenza quali implicazioni teoriche derivino dalla simulazione del cambiamento cognitivo attraverso le reti neurali e quali risposte siano state suggerite dai teorici dell\u2019approccio connessionista alle domande centrali della psicologia dello sviluppo cognitivo presentate nel capitolo 1