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Results for “Imitative Behavior”

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PubMed2001

Neural substrates involved in imitating finger configurations: an fMRI study.

Imitation plays a very important role in human cognition. Because previous neuroimaging studies on human imitation used rather simple actions as target stimuli, some aspects of imitation such as perceiving target actions or manipulating one's own mental image could not be studied. We used complicated non-symbolic (S-) and symbolic (S+) finger configurations as target stimuli in order to study the neural substrates involved in the perception of target actions and mental image manipulation during imitation. Bilateral supramarginal gyrus activation was detected when the S- condition was compared with the S+ condition. Our result suggests the involvement of the supramarginal gyrus especially for the imitation of novel actions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Observation-execution matching system for speech: a magnetic stimulation study.

Observation of limb movements in human subjects resulted in increased motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitude elicited by magnetic stimulation of motor cortex in the muscles involved in that movement, suggesting that an observation-execution matching (OEM) system exists in humans. We investigated whether the OEM system is activated by speech gestures presented in the visual and auditory modalities. We found that visual observation of speech movement enhanced MEP amplitude specifically in muscles involved in production of the observed speech. In contrast, listening to the sound did not produce MEP enhancement. The findings suggest that the OEM system may be modality specific. It may be involved in action recognition in the visual modality, but is not responsible for perception of simple items of sound.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2002

Cortical involvement for action imitation of hand/arm postures versus finger configurations: an fMRI study.

We used fMRI to study the human imitation of hand/arm postures and finger configuration, subjects imitated hand/arm postures in the hand condition, and they imitated finger configurations in the finger condition. Compared with the control condition, only the finger condition showed significant activation in Broca's area and symmetrical activation in the bilateral inferior parietal lobes, while the hand condition showed left lateralised superior parietal activation pattern. Our findings suggest that Broca's area might be involved more in the imitation of finger configuration than that of hand/arm postures. The result of parietal activation patterns was fully consistent with formerly reported clinical findings, and the relationship between the lesion laterality and the patients' perfomance of hand/finger action imitation.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

My eyes want to look where your eyes are looking: exploring the tendency to imitate another individual's gaze.

In this study we investigated the tendency of humans to imitate the gaze direction of other individuals. Distracting gaze stimuli or non biological directional cues (arrows) were presented to observers performing an instructed saccadic eye movement task. Eye movement recordings showed that observers performed less accurately when the distracting gaze and the instructed saccade had opposite directions, with a substantial number of saccades matching the direction of the distracting gaze. Static (Experiment 1) and dynamic (Experiment 2) gaze distracters, but not pointing arrows (Experiment 3), produced the effect. Results show a strong predisposition of humans to imitate somebody else's oculomotor behaviour, even when detrimental to task performance. This is likely linked to a strong tendency to share attentional states of other individuals, known as joint attention.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Imitation without awareness.

Imitation is a characteristic but little-understood function of the human brain and of some higher animals. The direct matching hypothesis suggests that a specialised brain circuit is able to extract and directly copy the motor commands of another person's observed actions. Here we investigate how conscious people are of this kind of imitation. We first showed that imitation reactions are faster than simple visual reaction times, consistent with a direct matching circuit in the CNS. We next compared the perceived time of imitation reactions in 17 healthy subjects with other kinds of actions. We found a significant delay in subjects' awareness of their own imitation reactions. Thus, while imitation reactions are unusually fast, subjects are not aware of this. The brain's direct-matching circuit for imitation partly bypasses conscious awareness.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Neural dynamics in human imitation revealed by ERP surface topography.

To clarify the neural dynamics in human motor imitation, we examined event-related potentials (ERP) for a reaction time task that required responses to an actor's finger motions with identical motions. Compared with a control task (reaction to an LED illumination), the ERP surface topography in the imitative reaction was differentiated at around 120-200 ms post-cueing, showing an early sensitivity to the response hand over the pre-central region. This result suggested that activities around the motor areas were facilitated in the imitative reaction, which is consistent with recent neuroimaging studies. However, taken together with that there were no differences in reaction times, the early ERP latency of conditional divergence indicated that neural activities related to imitation are visual responses and do not directly lead to motor acceleration.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Speech and language results in children with a cochlear implant.

At the House Ear Institute, speech and language assessments are a regular part of the evaluation protocol for the cochlear implant clinical trials in children. The assessments are conducted preimplant and at specific postimplant intervals. Paired comparisons of the children's performance at pre- and post-implant intervals reveal significant improvements in both imitative and spontaneous speech production abilities. However, some differences between groups are noted. Children implanted at an early age demonstrate a greater number of significant improvements in speech production, while children using oral communication have better skills at all test intervals. In addition, significant improvements on three of the four receptive language measures and one of the four expressive language measures are demonstrated at the 6-mo postimplant test interval. A significant decrease in performance is noted for one receptive language measure. In a second study, the speech scores of control groups and postimplant groups of the same age (3, 4, or 5 yr) are compared. Implanted children score higher in all but one of 24 contrasts, and these differences are statistically significant in five of the comparisons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

A comparison of vowel production by children with multichannel cochlear implants or tactile aids: perceptual evidence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in perceived vowel production accuracy over time in prelingually deafened children who use a multichannel cochlear implant (Nucleus 22 channel) or a multichannel tactile aid (Tactaid 7) and to compare the levels of perceived vowel production accuracy attained by the two device groups. DESIGN: The subjects were participants in longitudinal studies of the effects of sensory aids on the development of perceptual, speech, and language skills. As part of these studies, imitative vowel productions were elicited and transcribed before each child received their sensory aid and at 6 mo intervals thereafter. Data for the current study was obtained from the predevice interval and a later interval (postdevice) that was an average of 1.8 yr after the subjects received their respective devices. The subjects' vowel productions were judged for accuracy in matching an imitative model and for correctness of vowel features (height and place). Within-group analyses were completed to determine if vowel production scores improved over the course of the study for each device group. Between group comparisons were performed to examine differences in mean scores at each interval. RESULTS: Before receiving their multichannel devices, the two groups of subjects demonstrated similar imitative vowel production skills. After an average of 1.8 yr of device use, the cochlear implant subjects demonstrated significantly improved production of diphthongs and all vowel categories except low vowels. The Tactaid 7 subjects demonstrated significant improvement only in the production of diphthongs. Thus, cochlear implant recipients' vowel production skills were found to be significantly better than those of the Tactaid 7 users after a comparable amount of device experience. CONCLUSIONS: The vowel production gains of the cochlear implant subjects were similar in amount to those noted in other studies of children who use the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant and further confirm the potential of this device for improved speech production in prelingually deafened children. The differences between the performance of the two groups demonstrate that vowel production skills improved to a greater degree through use of a multichannel cochlear implant than through use of the Tactaid 7.

Child↗
PubMed1998

Imitative consonant feature production by children with multichannel sensory aids.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes over time in consonant feature production by children with profound hearing impairments who used either the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant or the multichannel vibrotactile aid, Tactaid 7. DESIGN: Imitative consonant productions of children with prelingual deafness were elicited and transcribed at two intervals: 1) before receiving their respective devices (predevice interval), and 2) after an average of 1.5 yr of device use (postdevice interval). The consonant productions were analyzed in terms of the percentage of consonant features (manner, place, and voicing) produced by the child that matched the features of the examiner's target. The percentage of features produced correctly was then averaged across repetitions, vowel environments, and participants within each group. RESULTS: At the predevice interval, the cochlear implant and Tactaid 7 participants demonstrated similar imitative consonant production abilities. After an average of 1.5 yr of device use, the cochlear implant participants demonstrated significantly greater gains than did the Tactaid 7 participants for the features of voicing and place of articulation. Although the cochlear implant participants showed a trend towards better production of the consonant manner features, this difference failed to reach significance. CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggest that the use of a multichannel sensory aid yields improvements in consonant feature production. Furthermore, use of a cochlear implant appears to promote the production of consonant voicing and place features to a greater degree than does the use of a multichannel tactile aid.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1989

Games infants play.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Facial Expression↗
PubMed1989

Affect and cognition in autism.

An array of six photographs of the same woman was used to assess the ability of 18 autistic, 14 nonautistic mentally retarded, and 18 normal preschool subjects to use affect- and activity-related concepts in the solution of cognitive tasks. The Total Performance Level of the autistic and mentally retarded subjects did not differ significantly. Autistic subjects performed imitation, directed action, and description tasks less well in the affect mode. The findings are consistent with other studies, suggesting an impairment in the expression of emotion in autism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Psychiatric effects of exposure to suicide among the friends and acquaintances of adolescent suicide victims.

The friends and acquaintances (N = 58) of 10 adolescent suicide victims were interviewed 6 months after the death of the victims, and the rates of psychiatric disorders that had onset after the death were compared with the 6-month incidence of psychopathology in 58 demographically and psychiatrically matched unexposed controls. The exposed group showed higher rates of any new onset major depressive disorder, but the rate of incident suicide attempts was the same in both groups. The median onset of incident depression among the exposed group was within the first month after exposure, and the majority of those exposed youth with incident depression were still depressed at interview 6 months after the death. Adolescent friends and acquaintances of suicide victims experience considerable psychiatric morbidity subsequent to exposure to suicide, most consistent with pathological grief.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Clinical approach to recurrent abdominal pain in children.

Recurrent abdominal pain of childhood is a frequent complaint that is often difficult for the physician to manage. This paper outlines the various psychological and physiological factors that have been implicated in causing recurrent abdominal pain and in difficulties in coping with the disorder. Guidelines for diagnosis and management are offered.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1992

Pregnancy risk among the younger sisters of pregnant and childbearing adolescents.

There is increasing evidence that younger sisters of childbearing teenagers are at increased risk for adolescent childbearing. We critically review this research and discuss three plausible theoretical explanations (social modeling, shared parenting influences, and shared societal risk) why the younger sisters of childbearing adolescents would themselves be at risk for teenage pregnancy. Considerations for preventive interventions aimed at the younger sisters of pregnant teenagers and directions for future research are discussed.

Adolescent↗