The neural correlates of infant and adult goal prediction

Autor(en)

Vincent M Reid, Stefanie Hoehl, Maren Grigutsch, Anna Groendahl, Eugenio Parise, Tricia Striano

Abstrakt

The sequential nature of action ensures that an individual can anticipate the conclusion of an observed action via the use of semantic rules. The semantic processing of language and action has been linked to the N400 component of the event-related potential (ERP). The authors developed an ERP paradigm in which infants and adults observed simple sequences of actions. In one condition the conclusion of the sequence was anticipated, whereas in the other condition the conclusion was not anticipated. Adults and infants at 9 months and 7 months were assessed via the same neural mechanisms-the N400 component and analysis of the theta frequency. Results indicated that adults and infants at 9 months produced N400-like responses when anticipating action conclusions. The infants at 7 months displayed no N400 component. Analysis of the theta frequency provided support for the relation between the N400 and semantic processing. This study suggests that infants at 9 months anticipate goals and use similar cognitive mechanisms to adults in this task. In addition, this result suggests that language processing may derive from understanding action in early development.

Organisation(en)

Externe Organisation(en)

Durham University, Universität Heidelberg, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, City University of New York

Journal

Developmental Psychology

Band

45

Seiten

620-629

Anzahl der Seiten

10

ISSN

0012-1649

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015209

Publikationsdatum

2009

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501005 Entwicklungspsychologie

Schlagwörter

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/f44a8150-89e7-4c48-bf0d-eb4138e36868