Abstract
A significant feature of the adult human brain is its ability to selectively process information about conspecifics. Much debate has centred on whether this specialization is primarily a result of phylogenetic adaptation, or whether the brain acquires expertise in processing social stimuli as a result of its being born into an intensely social environment. Here we study the haemodynamic response in cortical areas of newborns (1–5 days old) while they passively viewed dynamic human or mechanical action videos. We observed activation selective to a dynamic face stimulus over bilateral posterior temporal cortex, but no activation in response to a moving human arm. This selective activation to the social stimulus correlated with age in hours over the first few days post partum. Thus, even very limited experience of face-to-face interaction with other humans may be sufficient to elicit social stimulus activation of relevant cortical regions.
Highlights
A significant feature of the adult human brain is its ability to selectively process information about conspecifics
We have previously shown, using functional near infrared spectroscopy, that five-month-old infants show bilateral activation of posterior temporal cortex sites in response to social video clips, a pattern that is not seen in response to static or dynamic non-social scenes[5]
The functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) headgear was aligned to scalp and anatomical www.nature.com/scientificreports landmarks, consistent with the 10–20 electrode placement system[11], so that general comparisons could be made with adult findings from previous fMRI research
Summary
A significant feature of the adult human brain is its ability to selectively process information about conspecifics. The findings in five montholds correspond well with functional MRI studies in adults of the activation of the posterior superior temporal sulcus[6,7], suggesting precocial functional specialization of some parts of the social brain network. While these previous results indicate rapid development of parts of the social brain, they cannot resolve the long-standing issue of whether or not these regions are functional prior to relevant sensory experience, since by five months of age most babies have engaged in hundreds of hours of face-to-face contact with other humans. In Experiment 2 we sought to determine whether activation patterns observed in response to the social stimuli in Experiment 1 are observed when newborns view another type of biological motion
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