Behavioral and Brain Sciences 40 (2017)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Over 35 years ago, Meltzoff and Moore (1977) published their famous article ‘Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates’. Their central conclusion, that neonates can imitate, was and continues to be controversial. Here we focus on an often neglected aspect of this debate, namely on neonatal spontaneous behaviors themselves. We present a case study of a paradigmatic orofacial ‘gesture’, namely tongue protrusion and retraction (TP/R). Against the background of new research on mammalian aerodigestive development, we ask: How does the human aerodigestive system develop and what role does TP/R play in the neonate’s emerging system of aerodigestion? We show that mammalian aerodigestion develops in two phases: (1) from the onset of isolated orofacial movements in utero to the post-natal mastery of suckling at 4 months after birth, and; (2) thereafter, from preparation to the mastery of mastication and deglutition of solid foods. Like other orofacial stereotypies, TP/R emerges in the first phase and vanishes prior to the second. Based upon recent advances in activity-driven early neural development, we suggest a sequence of three developmental events in which TP/R might participate: the acquisition of tongue control, the integration of the central pattern generator for TP/R with other aerodigestive CPGs, and the formation of connections within the cortical maps of S1 and M1. If correct, orofacial stereotypies are crucial to the maturation of aerodigestion in the neonatal period but also unlikely to co-occur with imitative behavior.
|
Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1017/S0140525X16000911 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Why the Child’s Theory of Mind Really Is a Theory.Alison Gopnik & Henry M. Wellman - 1992 - Mind and Language 7 (1-2):145-71.
Empathy: Its Ultimate and Proximate Bases.Stephanie D. Preston & Frans B. M. de Waal - 2001 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25 (1):1-20.
The Dynamics of Embodiment: A Field Theory of Infant Perseverative Reaching.Esther Thelen, Gregor Schöner, Christian Scheier & Linda B. Smith - 2001 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24 (1):1-34.
The Earliest Sense of Self and Others: Merleau‐Ponty and Recent Developmental Studies.Shaun Gallagher & Andrew N. Meltzoff - 1996 - Philosophical Psychology 9 (2):211-33.
Newborns' Preferential Tracking of Face-Like Stimuli and its Subsequent Decline.Mark H. Johnson, Suzanne Dziurawiec, Hadyn Ellis & John Morton - 1991 - Cognition 40 (1-2):1-19.
View all 8 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Self-Defense: Deflecting Deflationary and Eliminativist Critiques of the Sense of Ownership.Shaun Gallagher - 2017 - Frontiers in Psychology 8.
Neonatal Imitation: Theory, Experimental Design, and Significance for the Field of Social Cognition.Stefano Vincini, Yuna Jhang, Eugene H. Buder & Shaun Gallagher - 2017 - Frontiers in Psychology 8.
Do Newborns Have the Ability to Imitate?Virginia Slaughter - 2021 - Trends in Cognitive Sciences 25 (5):377-387.
Sinking In: The Peripheral Baldwinisation of Human Cognition.Cecilia Heyes, Nick Chater & Dominic Michael Dwyer - 2020 - Trends in Cognitive Sciences 24 (11):884-899.
There is No Compelling Evidence That Human Neonates Imitate.Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini, Janine Oostenbroek, Thomas Suddendorf, Mark Nielsen, Jonathan Redshaw, Jacqueline Davis, Sally Clark & Virginia Slaughter - 2017 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 40.
View all 13 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Beyond Neonatal Imitation: Aerodigestive Stereotypies, Speech Development, and Social Interaction in the Extended Perinatal Period.Nazim Keven & Kathleen A. Akins - 2017 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 40.
Do Neonates Display Innate Self-Awareness? Why Neonatal Imitation Fails to Provide Sufficient Grounds for Innate Self-and Other-Awareness.Talia Welsh - 2006 - Philosophical Psychology 19 (2):221-238.
How Sensorimotor Interactions Enable Sentence Imitation.Tzu-Wei Hung - 2015 - Minds and Machines 25 (4):321-338.
Ethical Considerations of the Perinatal Necropsy.T. Y. Khong - 1996 - Journal of Medical Ethics 22 (2):111-114.
Imitation in Infancy.Jacqueline Nadel & George Butterworth (eds.) - 2011 - Cambridge University Press.
Neonatal Imitation and an Epigenetic Account of Mirror Neuron Development.Elizabeth A. Simpson, Nathan A. Fox, Antonella Tramacere & Pier F. Ferrari - 2014 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37 (2):220-220.
Maternal, Neonatal and Community Factors Influencing Neonatal Mortality in Brazil.Carla Jorge Machado & Kenneth Hill - 2005 - Journal of Biosocial Science 37 (2):193-208.
Morality in the Valley of the Moon: The Origins of the Ethics of Neonatal Intensive Care. [REVIEW]Albert R. Jonsen - 2012 - Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 33 (1):65-74.
Pre- and Perinatal Brain Development and Enculturation.Charles D. Laughlin - 1991 - Human Nature 2 (3):171-213.
Where Do Mirror Neurons Come From.Cecilia Heyes - forthcoming - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.
Neonatal Outcomes and Risk/Benefit Ratio of Induced Multiple Pregnancies.A. A. Zuppa - 2003 - Journal of Medical Ethics 29 (4):259-259.
Mimesis, Friendship, and Moral Development in Aristotle’s Ethics.Andreas Vakirtzis - 2015 - Rhizomata 3 (2):125-142.
How Far Can Sensorimotor Direct Realism Go?M. Mossio - 2016 - Constructivist Foundations 11 (2):287-289.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2017-12-14
Total views
28 ( #405,972 of 2,499,225 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
4 ( #169,627 of 2,499,225 )
2017-12-14
Total views
28 ( #405,972 of 2,499,225 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
4 ( #169,627 of 2,499,225 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads