MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Developmental Science' source. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:56:55 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5605130&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01134.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5605130 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5605130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5605129&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01133.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5605129 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5605129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5605128&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01108.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5605128 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5605128 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5605127&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01131.x AbstractAssociations between early deprivation and memory functioning were examined in 9‐ to 11‐year‐old children. Children who had experienced prolonged institutional care prior to adoption were compared to children who were adopted early from foster care and children reared in birth families. Measures included the Paired Associates Learning task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test and Automated Battery (CANTAB) and a continuous recognition memory task during which ERPs were also recorded. Children who experienced prolonged institutionalization showed deficits in both behavioral memory measures as well as an attenuated P300 parietal memory effect. Results implicate memory function as one of the domains that may be negatively influenced by early deprivation in the form of inst... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5605127 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5605127 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5474260&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01122.x AbstractThe event‐related potential (ERP) effect of mismatch negativity (MMN) was the first electrophysiological probe to evaluate cognitive processing (change detection) in newborn infants. Initial studies of MMN predicted clinical utility for this measure in identification of infants at risk for developmental cognitive deficits. These predictions have not been realized. We hypothesized that in sleeping newborn infants, measures derived from wavelet assessment of power in the MMN paradigm would be more robust markers of the brain’s response to stimulus change than the ERP‐derived MMN. Consistent with this premise, we found increased power in response to unpredictable and infrequent tones compared to frequent tones. These increases were present at multiple locations on the scalp over... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5474260 Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5474260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5474259&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01124.x AbstractIndividual differences in preschoolers’ understanding that human action is caused by internal mental states, or representational theory of mind (RTM), are heritable, as are developmental disorders such as autism in which RTM is particularly impaired. We investigated whether polymorphisms of genes affecting dopamine (DA) utilization and metabolism constitute part of the molecular basis of this heritability. Seventy‐three 42‐ to 54‐month‐olds were given a battery of RTM tasks along with other task batteries that measured executive functioning and representational understanding more generally. Polymorphisms of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) were associated with RTM performance such that preschoolers with shorter alleles outperformed those with one or more longer allele... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5474259 Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5474259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5474258&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01125.x AbstractVisual communication cues facilitate interpersonal communication. It is important that we look at faces to retrieve and subsequently process such cues. It is also important that we sometimes look away from faces as they increase cognitive load that may interfere with online processing. Indeed, when typically developing individuals hold face gaze it interferes with task completion. In this novel study we quantify face interference for the first time in Williams syndrome (WS) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These disorders of development impact on cognition and social attention, but how do faces interfere with cognitive processing? Individuals developing typically as well as those with ASD (n = 19) and WS (n = 16) were recorded during a question and answer session that in... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5474258 Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5474258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5448192&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01120.x AbstractDomestic dogs comprehend human gestural communication in a way that other animal species do not. But little is known about the specific cues they use to determine when human communication is intended for them. In a series of four studies, we confronted both adult dogs and young dog puppies with object choice tasks in which a human indicated one of two opaque cups by either pointing to it or gazing at it. We varied whether the communicator made eye contact with the dog in association with the gesture (or whether her back was turned or her eyes were directed at another recipient) and whether the communicator called the dog’s name (or the name of another recipient). Results demonstrated the importance of eye contact in human–dog communication, and, to a lesser extent, the calling ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5448192 Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5448192 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5438165&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01117.x AbstractAccording to the rapid auditory processing theory, the ability to parse incoming auditory information underpins learning of oral and written language. There is wide variation in this low‐level perceptual ability, which appears to follow a protracted developmental course. We studied the development of rapid auditory processing using event‐related potentials (ERPs) elicited by tone pairs presented at varying inter‐stimulus intervals (25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ms) in a sample of children (N = 103) aged 7–9 years initially and again at 9–11 years. We also assessed their ability to repeat nonsense words at both time‐points. The amount of difference between the ERP to single tones and paired tones (as assessed by the intra‐class correlation coefficient, ICC) provi... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5438165 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5438165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377492&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01092.x AbstractPrevious behavioural research suggests that infants possess phonologically detailed representations of the vowels and consonants in familiar words. These tasks examine infants’ sensitivity to mispronunciations of a target label in the presence of a target and distracter image. Sensitivity to the mispronunciation may, therefore, be contaminated by the degree of mismatch between the distracter label and the heard mispronounced label. Event‐related potential (ERP) studies allow investigation of infants’ sensitivity to the relationship between a heard label (correct or mispronounced) and the referent alone using single picture trials. ERPs also provide information about the timing of lexico‐phonological activation in infant word recognition. The current study examined 14‐mont... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377492 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377501&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01106.x AbstractThis research investigates children’s use of social categories in their food selection. Across three studies, we presented preschoolers with sets of photographs that contrasted food‐eating models with different characteristics, including model gender, race (Black, White), age (child or adult), and/or expression (acceptance or rejection of the food). Children were asked to pick between the photographs to choose which food they would like for snack. Results demonstrated that preschoolers prefer foods being eaten by models with positive over negative expressions, foods being eaten by child over adult models, and foods being eaten by child models of the same gender as themselves over models of the other gender. This work connects with previous research on children’s understanding... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377501 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377501 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377500&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01099.x AbstractRecent evidence suggests that adults selectively attend to features of action, such as how a hand contacts an object, and less to configural properties of action, such as spatial trajectory, when observing human actions. The current research investigated whether this bias develops in infancy. We utilized a habituation paradigm to assess 4‐month‐old and 10‐month‐old infants’ discrimination of action based on featural, configural, and temporal sources of action information. Younger infants were able to discriminate changes to all three sources of information, but older infants were only able to reliably discriminate changes to featural information. These results highlight a previously unknown aspect of early action processing, and suggest that action perception may undergo ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377500 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377499&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01100.x AbstractSpeakers convey meaning not only through words, but also through gestures. Although children are exposed to co‐speech gestures from birth, we do not know how the developing brain comes to connect meaning conveyed in gesture with speech. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to address this question and scanned 8‐ to 11‐year‐old children and adults listening to stories accompanied by hand movements, either meaningful co‐speech gestures or meaningless self‐adaptors. When listening to stories accompanied by both types of hand movement, both children and adults recruited inferior frontal, inferior parietal, and posterior temporal brain regions known to be involved in processing language not accompanied by hand movements. There were, however, age‐related dif... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377499 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377498&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01101.x AbstractAcross four studies, we directly compared children’s essentialist reasoning about the stability of race and language throughout an individual’s lifespan. Monolingual English‐speaking children were presented with a series of images of children who were either White or Black; each face was paired with a voice clip in either English or French. Participants were asked which of two adults each target child would grow up to be – one who was a ‘match’ to the target child in race but not language, and the other a ‘match’ in language but not race. Nine‐ to 10‐year‐old European American children chose the race‐match, rather than the language‐match. In contrast, 5–6‐year‐old European American children in both urban, racially diverse, and rural, racially homogen... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377498 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377497&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01103.x AbstractRecent research indicates that toddlers and infants succeed at various non‐verbal spontaneous‐response false‐belief tasks; here we asked whether toddlers would also succeed at verbal spontaneous‐response false‐belief tasks that imposed significant linguistic demands. We tested 2.5‐year‐olds using two novel tasks: a preferential‐looking task in which children listened to a false‐belief story while looking at a picture book (with matching and non‐matching pictures), and a violation‐of‐expectation task in which children watched an adult ‘Subject’ answer (correctly or incorrectly) a standard false‐belief question. Positive results were obtained with both tasks, despite their linguistic demands. These results (1) support the distinction between spontaneous�... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377497 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377496&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01104.x AbstractIndividuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have impairments in visuospatial tasks and in manual visuomotor control, consistent with parietal and cerebellar abnormalities. Here we examined whether individuals with WS also have difficulties in visually controlling whole‐body movements. We investigated visual control of stepping down at a change of level in children with WS (5–16‐year‐olds), who descended a single step while their movement was kinematically recorded. On each trial step height was set unpredictably, so that visual information was necessary to perceive the step depth and position the legs appropriately before landing. Kinematic measures established that children with WS did not use visual information to slow the leg at an appropriate point during the step. This pat... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377496 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377495&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01107.x AbstractSome children’s social activities are structured by joint goals. In previous research, the criterion used to determine this was relatively weak: if the partner stopped interacting, did the child attempt to re‐engage her? But re‐engagement attempts could easily result from the child simply realizing that she needs the partner to reach her own goal in the activity (social tool explanation). In two experiments, 21‐ and 27‐month‐old children interacted with an adult in games in which they either did or did not physically need the partner to reach a concrete goal. Moreover, when the partner stopped interacting, she did so because she was either unwilling to continue (breaking off from the joint goal) or unable to continue (presumably still maintaining the joint goal). Childr... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377495 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377494&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01115.x AbstractSensation seeking is associated with an increased propensity for delinquency, and emerging research on personality change suggests that mean levels of sensation seeking increase substantially from childhood to adolescence. The current study tested whether individual differences in the rate of change of sensation seeking predicted within‐person change in delinquent behavior and whether genetically influenced differences in rate of personality change accounted for this association. Sensation seeking and delinquent behavior were assessed biennially between ages 10–11 and 16–17 in a nationally representative sample of 7675 youths from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth: Children and Young Adults (CNLSY). Analyses using latent growth curve modeling found that within‐person... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377494 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377493&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01116.x AbstractWe used opposing figural aftereffects to investigate whether there are at least partially separable representations of upright and inverted faces in patients who missed early visual experience because of bilateral congenital cataracts (mean age at test 19.5 years). Visually normal adults and 10‐year‐olds were tested for comparison. Adults showed the expected opposing aftereffects for upright and inverted faces. Ten‐year‐olds showed an adultlike aftereffect for upright faces but, unlike the adult group, no aftereffect for inverted faces. Patients failed to show an aftereffect for either upright or inverted faces. Overall, the results suggest that early visual input is necessary for the later development of (at least partially) separable representations of upright and inver... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377493 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5570139&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01119.x AbstractThe present study is the first long‐term longitudinal examination of the etiology of individual differences in language from early childhood through to adolescence. We applied a multivariate latent factor genetic model to longitudinal data from the Twins Early Development Study in order to (a) compare the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on language skills in early childhood (2, 3 and 4 years), middle childhood (7, 9 and 10 years), and early adolescence (12 years); and (b) determine to what extent the same genetic and environmental factors underlie variation in language skills at these three stages of language development. We found that while shared environmental influences appear to be dominant (latent factor c2 = .74) in early language, with a smaller... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5570139 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5570139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5484346&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01129.x We present the results of a 2‐year longitudinal study of 49 children with Down Syndrome (DS) and 61 typically developing (TD) control children with similar initial levels of reading skill. Phoneme awareness and vocabulary were strong concurrent predictors of initial levels of reading skill in both groups. However, longitudinally phoneme awareness was a predictor of the growth of reading skills in TD children but not in children with DS. There was a very high degree of longitudinal stability in reading skills in children with DS, and initial levels of reading skills seemed to be highly constrained by general language skills, as indexed by vocabulary knowledge, in this population. We conclude that reading development in children with DS shows similarities and differences to the pattern obs... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5484346 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5484346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5474257&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01127.x This study suggests that by 11 months infants actively use goal analysis to generate on‐line predictions of an agent’s next action. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5474257 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5474257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5454975&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01105.x AbstractUnderstanding (a) how responses become prepotent provides insights into when inhibition is needed in everyday life. Understanding (b) how response prepotency is overcome provides insights for helping children develop strategies for overcoming such tendencies. Concerning (a), on tasks such as the day‐night Stroop‐like task, is the difficulty with inhibiting saying the name of the stimulus due to the name being semantically related to the correct response or to its being a valid response on the task (i.e. a member of the response set) though incorrect for this stimulus? Experiment 1 (with 40 4‐year‐olds) suggests that prepotency is caused by membership in the response set and not semantic relation. Concerning (b), Diamond, Kirkham and Amso (2002) found that 4‐year‐olds co... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5454975 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5454975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5448191&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01121.x AbstractParenting is traditionally conceptualized as an exogenous environment that affects child development. However, children can also influence the quality of parenting that they receive. Using longitudinal data from 650 identical and fraternal twin pairs, we found that, controlling for cognitive ability at age 2 years, cognitive stimulation by parents (coded from video recorded behaviors during a dyadic task) at 2 years predicted subsequent reading ability at age 4 years. Moreover, controlling for cognitive stimulation at 2 years, children’s cognitive ability at 2 years predicted the quality of stimulation received from their parents at 4 years. Genetic and environmental factors differentially contributed to these effects. Parenting influenced subsequent cognitive develop... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5448191 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5448191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5438164&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01118.x This study examines whether mothers’ speech input is driven by knowledge of the infant’s linguistic competence, or by the infant’s feedback cues. Specifically, we manipulated (i) mothers’ knowledge of whether they believed their infants could hear them or not, and (ii) the audibility of the speech signal available to the infant (full or partial audibility, or inaudible). Remarkably, vowel hyperarticulation was completely unaffected by mothers’ knowledge; instead, there was a reduction in the degree of hyperarticulation such that vowels were hyperarticulated to the greatest extent in the full audibility condition, there was reduced hyperarticulation in the partially audible condition, and no hyperarticulation in the inaudible condition. Thus, while it might be considered adaptive ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5438164 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5438164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5397975&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01102.x AbstractThe acquisition of reading has an extensive impact on the developing brain and leads to enhanced abilities in phonological processing and visual letter perception. Could this expertise also extend to early visual abilities outside the reading domain? Here we studied the performance of illiterate, ex‐illiterate and literate adults closely matched in age, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics, on a contour integration task known to depend on early visual processing. Stimuli consisted of a closed egg‐shaped contour made of disconnected Gabor patches, within a background of randomly oriented Gabor stimuli. Subjects had to decide whether the egg was pointing left or right. Difficulty was varied by jittering the orientation of the Gabor patches forming the contour. Contour integ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5397975 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5397975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377491&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01097.x AbstractAlthough growth in head circumference (HC) during infancy is known to predict later childhood outcomes, the mechanisms underlying this association with later sociocognitive abilities remain undetermined. Thus, using a sample of 241 pairs of normally developing Japanese twins, this study investigated the underpinnings of the association between HC growth (difference between HC at birth and at 10 months) and sociocognitive abilities at 19 months as measured by 10 items from the M‐CHAT. Phenotypic correlations between HC at birth and sociocognitive abilities and between HC growth and sociocognitive abilities were marginal and not significant. However, multivariate genetic analyses using Cholesky decomposition revealed that genetic influences on HC growth and those on sociocognit... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377491 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377503&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01096.x AbstractPrevious research has established that infants are unable to perceive causality until 6¼ months of age. The current experiments examined whether infants’ ability to engage in causal action could facilitate causal perception prior to this age. In Experiment 1, 4½‐month‐olds were randomly assigned to engage in causal action experience via Velcro sticky mittens or not engage in causal action because they wore non‐sticky mittens. Both groups were then tested in the visual habituation paradigm to assess their causal perception. Infants who engaged in causal action – but not those without this causal action experience – perceived the habituation events as causal. Experiment 2 used a similar design to establish that 4½‐month‐olds are unable to generalize their own causa... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377503 Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377503 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5377502&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01098.x AbstractMuch of human communication and collaboration is predicated on making predictions about others’ actions. Humans frequently use predictions about others’ action mistakes to correct others and spare them mistakes. Such anticipatory correcting reveals a social motivation for unsolicited helping. Cognitively, it requires forward inferences about others’ actions through mental attributions of goal and reality representations. The current study shows that infants spontaneously intervene when an adult is mistaken about the location of an object she is about to retrieve. Infants pointed out a correct location for an adult before she was about to commit a mistake. Infants did not intervene in control conditions when the adult had witnessed the misplacement, or when she did not intend ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5377502 Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5377502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5332142&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01126.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5332142 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:17:20 +0100 5332142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5332141&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01114.x AbstractThis selective review considers findings in genetic research that have shed light on how genes operate across development. We will address the question of whether the child is ‘father of the Man’ from a genetic perspective. In other words, do the same genetic influences affect the same traits across development? Using a ‘taster menu’ approach and prioritizing newer findings on cognitive and behavioral traits, examples from the following genetic disciplines will be discussed: (a) developmental quantitative genetics (such as longitudinal twin studies), (b) neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes with known genetic causes (such as Williams syndrome), (c) developmental candidate gene studies (such as those that link infant and adult populations), (d) developmental genome‐wide as... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5332141 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:17:18 +0100 5332141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5270060&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01093.x This study investigated prospective links between quality of the early caregiving environment and children’s subsequent executive functioning (EF). Sixty‐two families were met on five occasions, allowing for assessment of maternal interactive behavior, paternal interactive behavior, and child attachment security between 1 and 2 years of age, and child EF at 2 and 3 years. The results suggested that composite scores of parental behavior and child attachment were related to child performance on EF tasks entailing strong working memory and cognitive flexibility components (conflict‐EF). In particular, child attachment security was related to conflict‐EF performance at 3 years above and beyond what was explained by a combination of all other social antecedents of child EF identif... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5270060 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5270060 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5270059&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01094.x AbstractA deficit in theory of mind (ToM), or the ability to infer the mental states of others, has been implicated as one of the major characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); however, little attention has been devoted to possible differences in ToM ability within ASD. The current study examined ToM performance in children with early‐onset autism and regressive autism in comparison to typically developing children. Results indicated that children in the regressive autism group performed significantly better than the early‐onset autism group on the non‐verbal appearance–reality task. Additionally, Fisher’s exact tests indicated a pattern of lowest scores in the early‐onset group and highest scores in the typically developing group, whereas the regressive autism group ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5270059 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5270059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5270058&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01095.x In this study, we investigated the role of the motor system in the development of visual anticipation of others’ actions. Twelve‐month‐olds engaged in behavioral and observation tasks. Containment activity, infants’ spontaneous engagement in producing containment actions; and gaze latency, how quickly they shifted gaze to the goal object of another’s containment actions, were measured. Findings revealed a positive relationship: infants who received the behavior task first evidenced a strong correlation between their own actions and their subsequent gaze latency of another’s actions. Learning over the course of trials was not evident. These findings demonstrate a direct influence of the motor system on online visual attention to others’ actions early in development. (Source: D... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5270058 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5270058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5257949&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01090.x AbstractThe cultural intelligence hypothesis (CIH) claims that humans’ advanced cognition is a direct result of human culture and that children are uniquely specialized to absorb and utilize this cultural experience (Tomasello, 2000). Comparative data demonstrating that 2.5‐year‐old human children outperform apes on measures of social cognition but not on measures of physical cognition support this claim (Herrmann et al., 2007). However, the previous study failed to control for rearing when comparing these two species. Specifically, the human children were raised in a human culture whereas the apes were raised in standard sanctuary settings. To further explore the CIH, here we compared the performance on multiple measures of social and physical cognition in a group of standard reare... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5257949 Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5257949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5234631&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01089.x AbstractLanguage acquisition involves both acquiring a set of words (i.e. the lexicon) and learning the rules that combine them to form sentences (i.e. syntax). Here, we show that consonants are mainly involved in word processing, whereas vowels are favored for extracting and generalizing structural relations. We demonstrate that such a division of labor between consonants and vowels plays a role in language acquisition. In two very similar experimental paradigms, we show that 12‐month‐old infants rely more on the consonantal tier when identifying words (Experiment 1), but are better at extracting and generalizing repetition‐based srtuctures over the vocalic tier (Experiment 2). These results indicate that infants are able to exploit the functional differences between consonants and ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5234631 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5234631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205234&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01084.x AbstractThe developing infant learns about the physical and the social world by engaging with objects and with people. In the study reported here, we investigated the relationship between infants’ interactions with the physical and the social world. Three‐month‐old infants were trained for 2 weeks and experienced either actively manipulating objects themselves or passively having objects touched to their hands. Following active or passive experiences, spontaneous orienting towards faces and objects was compared between the trained groups and untrained 3‐ and 5‐month‐olds. It is known that the onset of reaching behavior increases infants’ interest in objects. However, we report that active, self‐produced reaching experiences also increase infants’ spontaneous orienting t... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205234 Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205233&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01078.x AbstractWe used a staircase procedure to test sensitivity to (1) global motion in random‐dot kinematograms moving at 4° and 18° s−1 and (2) biological motion. Thresholds were defined as (1) the minimum percentage of signal dots (i.e. the maximum percentage of noise dots) necessary for accurate discrimination of upward versus downward motion or (2) the maximum percentage of noise dots tolerated for accurate discrimination of biological from non‐biological motion. Subjects were adults and children aged 6–8, 9–11, and 12–14 years (n = 20 per group). Contrary to earlier research, results revealed a similar, long developmental trajectory for sensitivity to global motion at both slower and faster speeds and for biological motion. Thresholds for all three tasks improved monoto... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205233 Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205233 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5282512&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01088.x AbstractIn this paper we examine the relations between parent spatial language input, children’s own production of spatial language, and children’s later spatial abilities. Using a longitudinal study design, we coded the use of spatial language (i.e. words describing the spatial features and properties of objects; e.g. big, tall, circle, curvy, edge) from child age 14 to 46 months in a diverse sample of 52 parent–child dyads interacting in their home settings. These same children were given three non‐verbal spatial tasks, items from a Spatial Transformation task (Levine et al., 1999), the Block Design subtest from the WPPSI‐III (Wechsler, 2002), and items on the Spatial Analogies subtest from Primary Test of Cognitive Skills (Huttenlocher & Levine, 1990) at 54 months of a... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5282512 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5282512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5270057&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01087.x AbstractAdolescence is a period of development in which peer relationships become especially important. A computer‐based game (Cyberball) has been used to explore the effects of social exclusion in adolescents and adults. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study used Cyberball to extend prior work to the cross‐sectional study of younger children and adolescents (7 to 17 years), identifying age‐related changes in the neural correlates of social exclusion across the important transition from middle childhood into adolescence. Additionally, a control task illustrated the specificity of these age‐related changes for social exclusion as distinct from expectancy violation more generally. During exclusion, activation in and functional connectivity between ventrolat... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5270057 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5270057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5257948&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01091.x AbstractThe nature of word recognition difficulties in developmental dyslexia is still a topic of controversy. We investigated the contribution of phonological processing deficits and uncertainty to the word recognition difficulties of dyslexic children by mathematical diffusion modeling of visual and auditory lexical decision data. The first study showed that poor visual lexical decision performance of reading disabled children was mainly due to a delay in the evaluation of word characteristics, suggesting impaired phonological processing. The adoption of elevated certainty criteria by the disabled readers suggests that uncertainty contributed to the visual word recognition impairments as well. The second study replicated the outcomes for visual lexical decision with formally diagnosed dy... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5257948 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5257948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5234630&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01083.x We present a dynamic neural field model that captures both real‐time and developmental processes underlying performance. Three simulation experiments show how looking is linked to VWM processes during infancy and how developmental changes in performance could arise through increasing neural connectivity. These results provide insight into the sources of capacity limits and VWM development more generally. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5234630 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5234630 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5220070&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01075.x AbstractVery little is known about the neural underpinnings of language learning across the lifespan and how these might be modified by maturational and experiential factors. Building on behavioral research highlighting the importance of early word segmentation (i.e. the detection of word boundaries in continuous speech) for subsequent language learning, here we characterize developmental changes in brain activity as this process occurs online, using data collected in a mixed cross‐sectional and longitudinal design. One hundred and fifty‐six participants, ranging from age 5 to adulthood, underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while listening to three novel streams of continuous speech, which contained either strong statistical regularities, strong statistical regulariti... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5220070 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5220070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205232&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01086.x AbstractWhen geometric and non‐geometric information are both available for specifying location, men have been shown to rely more heavily on geometry compared to women. To shed insight on the nature and developmental origins of this sex difference, we examined how 18‐ to 24‐month‐olds represented the geometry of a surrounding (rectangular) space when direct non‐geometric information (i.e. a beacon) was also available for localizing a hidden object. Children were tested on a disorientation task with multiple phases. Across experiments, boys relied more heavily than girls on geometry to guide localization, as indicated by their errors during the initial phase of the task, and by their search choices following transformations that left only geometry available, or that, under limited... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205232 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205232 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5179469&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01085.x We presented macaques with a looking‐time measure of false belief understanding, one that had recently been developed for use with 15‐month‐old human infants. Like human infants, monkeys look longer when a human experimenter fails to search in the correct location when she has accurate knowledge. In contrast to infants, however, monkeys appear to make no prediction about how a human experimenter will act when she has a false belief. Across three studies, macaques’ pattern of results is consistent with the view that monkeys can represent the knowledge and ignorance of others, but not their beliefs. The capacity to represent beliefs may therefore be a unique hallmark of human cognition. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5179469 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:05:15 +0100 5179469 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174271&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01082.x AbstractThe adaptive behavior of primates, including humans, is often mediated by temperament. Human behavior likely differs from that of other primates in part due to temperament. In the current study we compared the reaction of bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, and 2.5‐year‐old human infants to novel objects and people – as a measure of their shyness–boldness, a key temperamental trait. Human children at the age of 2.5 years avoided novelty of all kinds far more than the other ape species. This response was most similar to that seen in bonobos and least like that of chimpanzees and orangutans. This comparison represents a first step in characterizing the temperamental profiles of species in the hominoid clade, and these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that human tem... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174271 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:50:59 +0100 5174271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5156984&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01071.x AbstractAn important question within developmental psychology concerns the extent to which the maturational gains that children make across multiple diverse domains of functioning can be attributed to global (domain‐general) developmental processes. The present study investigated this question by examining the extent to which individual differences in change across children’s development in five different domains are correlated. Multivariate growth‐curve models were fit to longitudinal data on linguistic, mathematics, reading, gross motor, and fine motor skills in 8950 children ranging in age from 44 to 86 months (3.7 years to 7.2 years). All five rates of change were positively intercorrelated. A common factor accounted for 42% of the individual differences in change. These re... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5156984 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:53:55 +0100 5156984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5156983&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01073.x AbstractInfants can use statistical regularities to form rudimentary word categories (e.g. noun, verb), and to learn the meanings common to words from those categories. Using an artificial language methodology, we probed the mechanisms by which two types of statistical cues (distributional and phonological regularities) affect word learning. Because linking distributional cues vs. phonological information to semantics make different computational demands on learners, we also tested whether their use is related to language proficiency. We found that 22‐month‐old infants with smaller vocabularies generalized using phonological cues; however, infants with larger vocabularies showed the opposite pattern of results, generalizing based on distributional cues. These findings suggest that both... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5156983 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:53:53 +0100 5156983 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094824&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01081.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094824 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094823&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01072.x AbstractMinority‐race children in North America and Europe often show less own‐race favoritism than children of the majority (White) race, but the reasons for this asymmetry are unresolved. The present research tested South African children in order to probe the influences of group size, familiarity, and social status on children’s race‐based social preferences. We assessed South African children’s preferences for members of their country’s majority race (Blacks) compared to members of other groups, including Whites, who ruled South Africa until 1994 and who remain high in status. Black children (3–13 years) tested in a Black township preferred people of their own gender but not race. Moreover, Black, White, and multiracial children (4–9 years) tested in a racially dive... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094823 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094822&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01076.x This study provides evidence for the claim that infants around 1 year of age do not employ other people’s object‐directed gaze to anticipate future actions, but to establish person–object associations. The implications of this finding for theoretical conceptions of infants’ social‐cognitive development are discussed. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094822 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094821&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01079.x AbstractInfants are adept at tracking statistical regularities to identify word boundaries in pause‐free speech. However, researchers have questioned the relevance of statistical learning mechanisms to language acquisition, since previous studies have used simplified artificial languages that ignore the variability of real language input. The experiments reported here embraced a key dimension of variability in infant‐directed speech. English‐learning infants (8–10 months) listened briefly to natural Italian speech that contained either fluent speech only or a combination of fluent speech and single‐word utterances. Listening times revealed successful learning of the statistical properties of target words only when words appeared both in fluent speech and in isolation; brief expos... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094821 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094820&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01080.x AbstractPrevious research shows a correlation between individual differences in people’s school math abilities and the accuracy with which they rapidly and nonverbally approximate how many items are in a scene. This finding is surprising because the Approximate Number System (ANS) underlying numerical estimation is shared with infants and with non‐human animals who never acquire formal mathematics. However, it remains unclear whether the link between individual differences in math ability and the ANS depends on formal mathematics instruction. Earlier studies demonstrating this link tested participants only after they had received many years of mathematics education, or assessed participants’ ANS acuity using tasks that required additional symbolic or arithmetic processing similar to ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094820 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5068939&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01067.x AbstractPerception and eye movements are affected by culture. Adults from Eastern societies (e.g. China) display a disposition to process information holistically, whereas individuals from Western societies (e.g. Britain) process information analytically. Recently, this pattern of cultural differences has been extended to face processing. Adults from Eastern cultures fixate centrally towards the nose when learning and recognizing faces, whereas adults from Western societies spread fixations across the eye and mouth regions. Although light has been shed on how adults can fixate different areas yet achieve comparable recognition accuracy, the reason why such divergent strategies exist is less certain. Although some argue that culture shapes strategies across development, little direct eviden... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5068939 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5068939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5068940&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01066.x We examined the visual behaviors of n = 16 infants (6–7 months) while they attended to multiple spatially distributed targets in a naturalistic environment. We coded four measures of attentional vigilance, adapted from studies of norepinergic modulation of animal attention: rate of fixations, duration of fixations, latency to reorientation, and target ‘hits’. These measures showed a high degree of coherence in individual infants, in parallel with findings from animal studies. Results also suggest that less vigilant infants showed greater habituation to the trial structure and more attentiveness to less salient stimuli during periods of high attentional competition. This pattern of results is predicted by the Aston‐Jones model of attention, but could not be explained by the st... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5068940 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5068940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5049136&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01065.x AbstractObject substitutions in play (e.g. using a box as a car) are strongly linked to language learning and their absence is a diagnostic marker of language delay. Classic accounts posit a symbolic function that underlies both words and object substitutions. Here we show that object substitutions depend on developmental changes in visual object recognition: 18‐ to 30‐month old children (n = 63) substitute objects in play after they have developed the adult‐like ability to recognize common objects from sparse models of their geometric structure. These developmental changes in object recognition are a better predictor of object substitutions than language or age. A developmental pathway connecting visual object recognition, object name learning, and symbolic play is proposed in w... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5049136 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5049136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094819&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01077.x AbstractTiming is essential for the development of cognitive skills known to be impaired in Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC), such as social cognition and episodic memory abilities. Despite the proposal that timing impairments may underpin core features of ASC, few studies have examined temporal processing in ASC and they have produced conflicting results. The present study first addressed discrepancies between previous experiments before testing the assumption that timing impairments may underpin key aspects of autism, by relating differences in temporal processing in the ASC group to memory abilities. Errors in duration reproduction in high functioning children with ASC were observed for the shortest and longest duration tested. While the former was due to attentional factors, the latter... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094819 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5076992&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01070.x AbstractBarth and Paladino (2011) argue that changes in numerical representations are better modeled by a power function whose exponent gradually rises to 1 than as a shift from a logarithmic to a linear representation of numerical magnitude. However, the fit of the power function to number line estimation data may simply stem from fitting noise generated by averaging over changing proportions of logarithmic and linear estimation patterns. To evaluate this possibility, we used conventional model fitting techniques with individual as well as group average data; simulations that varied the proportion of data generated by different functions; comparisons of alternative models’ prediction of new data; and microgenetic analyses of rates of change in experiments on children’s learning. Both ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5076992 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5076992 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5068938&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01074.x AbstractObject individuation was investigated in newborn domestic chicks. Chicks’ spontaneous tendency to approach the larger group of familiar objects was exploited in a series of five experiments. In the first experiment newborn chicks were reared for 3 days with objects differing in either colour, shape or size. At test, each chick was presented with two groups of events: two objects differing in one property vs. two presentations of the same object. In both cases, all objects involved in the same group of events were sequentially presented and eventually concealed in a different spatial location, and the number of events taking place at each location was equalized. Chicks spontaneously approached the two different objects rather than the single object seen twice. Chicks did not just ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5068938 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5068938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5061768&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01069.x In conclusion, the acquisition of pant‐grunting behaviour in chimpanzees is a long‐lasting process with distinct developmental phases in which social influences by the mother and other group members are likely to play a role. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5061768 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5061768 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5049135&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01064.x AbstractThe brain is highly sensitive to environmental hypoxia. Little is known, however, about the neuropsychological effects of high altitude residence in the developing brain. We recently described only minor changes in processing speed in native Bolivian children and adolescents living at approximately 3700 m. However, evidence for loss of cerebral autoregulation above this altitude (4000 m) suggests a potential threshold of hypoxia severity over which neuropsychological functioning may be compromised. We conducted physiological and neuropsychological assessments in 62 Bolivian children and adolescents living at La Paz (∼3700 m) and El Alto (∼4100 m) in order to address this issue. Groups were equivalent in terms of age, gender, social class, schooling, parental education a... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5049135 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5049135 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5027453&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01068.x This study identified deficits in executive functioning in pre‐adolescent preterms and modeled their role, along with processing speed, in explaining preterm/full‐term differences in reading and mathematics. Preterms (< 1750 g) showed deficits at 11 years on a battery of tasks tapping the three basic executive functions identified by Miyake – updating/working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that these executive functions, though correlated, were distinct from one another and from processing speed, which later proved to account for much of the intercorrelation among executive functions. In the best‐fitting structural equation model, the negative effects of prematurity on achievement were completely mediated by the three executive functi... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5027453 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5027453 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4944549&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01062.x AbstractAlthough infants display preferences for social stimuli early in their lives, we know relatively little about the mechanisms of infant learning about the social world. In the current set of studies, 1‐month‐old infants underwent an adapted eyeblink conditioning paradigm to examine learning to both ‘social’ and non‐social cues. While infants were asleep, they were presented with either a ‘social’ stimulus (a female voice) or one of two non‐social stimuli (tone or backward voice) followed by an airpuff presented to the eyelid. Infants in the experimental groups displayed increased learning across trials, regardless of stimulus type. However, infants conditioned to the ‘social’ stimulus showed increased learning compared to infants conditioned to either of the non�... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4944549 Sun, 19 Jun 2011 09:21:58 +0100 4944549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4944553&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01058.x AbstractRecent evidence suggests those with autism may be generally impaired in visual motion perception. To examine this, we investigated both coherent and biological motion processing in adolescents with autism employing both psychophysical and fMRI methods. Those with autism performed as well as matched controls during coherent motion perception but had significantly higher thresholds for biological motion perception. The autism group showed reduced posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus (pSTS), parietal and frontal activity during a biological motion task while showing similar levels of activity in MT+/V5 during both coherent and biological motion trials. Activity in MT+/V5 was predictive of individual coherent motion thresholds in both groups. Activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (D... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4944553 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4944553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4944552&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01059.x AbstractAudio‐visual integration was studied in children aged 8–17 (N = 30) and adults (N = 22) using the ‘flash‐beep illusion’ paradigm, where the presentation of two beeps causes a single flash to be perceived as two flashes (fission illusion), and a single beep causes two flashes to be perceived as one flash (fusion illusion). Children reported significantly more fission illusions than adults, indicating that auditory and visual information was integrated more often, and less selectively, than in adults. Within either group, illusion reports did not correlate with either age or motor coordination measures. The current results show that the form of multisensory integration indexed by the illusion is slow to mature in normally developing children. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4944552 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4944552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4944551&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01060.x AbstractWhy does visual working memory performance increase with age in childhood? One recent study (Cowan et al., 2010b) ruled out the possibility that the basic cause is a tendency in young children to clutter working memory with less‐relevant items (within a concurrent array, colored items presented in one of two shapes). The age differences in memory performance, however, theoretically could result from inadequate encoding of the briefly presented array items by younger children. We replicated the key part of the procedure in children 6–8 and 11–13 years old and college students (total N = 90), but with a much slower, sequential presentation of the items to ensure adequate encoding. We also required verbal responses during encoding to encourage or discourage labeling of ite... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4944551 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4944551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4944550&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01061.x We examined executive function as assessed by working memory ability in a community sample of youth (n = 387, ages 10 to 12 at baseline) in three annual assessments to determine its relation to two forms of impulsivity (sensation seeking and acting without thinking) and a wide range of risk and externalizing behavior. Using structural equation modeling, we tested a model in which differential activation of the dorsal and ventral striatum produces imbalance in the function of these brain regions. For youth high in sensation seeking, both regions were predicted to develop with age. However, for youth high in the tendency to act without thinking, the ventral striatum was expected to dominate. The model predicted that working memory ability would exhibit (1) early weakness in youth high in act... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4944550 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4944550 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4910927&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01056.x AbstractThe ability to statistically segment a continuous auditory stream is one of the most important preparations for initiating language learning. Such ability is available to human infants at 8 months of age, as shown by a behavioral measurement. However, behavioral study alone cannot determine how early this ability is available. A recent study using measurements of event‐related potential (ERP) revealed that neonates are able to detect statistical boundaries within auditory streams of speech syllables. Extending this line of research will allow us to better understand the cognitive preparation for language acquisition that is available to neonates. The aim of the present study was to examine the domain‐generality of such statistical segmentation. Neonates were presented with no... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4910927 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4910927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4910926&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01057.x This study clearly demonstrates differential developmental courses for the N400 and LPC pertaining to recognition memory for faces. It is concluded that face recognition in children is mediated by early and probably more automatic than conscious recognition processes. In adults, the LPC extended repetition effect indicates that adult face recognition memory is related to a conscious and graded recollection process rather than to an automatic recognition process. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4910926 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4910926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4901824&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01046.x AbstractEvery environment contains infinite potential features and correlations among features, or patterns. Detecting valid and learnable patterns in one environment is beneficial for learners because doing so lends predictability to new environments where the same or analogous patterns recur. However, some apparent correlations among features reflect spurious patterns, and attempting to learn the latter costs time and resources with no advantage to the learner. Thus, an efficient learner in a complex environment needs to devote more attention to input that reflects a real and learnable pattern than to input that reflects a spurious or ultimately unlearnable pattern. However, in order to achieve such efficiency in the absence of external feedback, learners need to have an implicit metric ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4901824 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4901824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4901823&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01047.x AbstractSelf‐regulatory behavior in early childhood is an important characteristic that has considerable implications for the development of adaptive and maladaptive functioning. The present study investigated the relations between a functional polymorphism in the upstream region of monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) and self‐regulatory behavior in a sample of Chinese infants at 6 months of age. Self‐regulation was assessed by observing infants’ behavior of orienting visual attention away from a threatening event in the laboratory situation. The results indicated that regulatory behavior was associated with the functional MAOA gene polymorphism in girls, but not boys. Girls with 4/4 genotypes displayed significantly higher regulation than girls with 3/3 and 3/4 genotypes. The presen... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4901823 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4901823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4901822&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01048.x We report two experiments on infants’ reactions to equal and unequal distributions. In two experiments, infants’ looking times and manual choices provide, for the first time, converging evidence suggesting that infants aged 12 to 18 months (mean age 16 months) attend to the outcomes of distributive actions to evaluate agents’ actions and to reason about agents’ dispositions. The results provide support for recent theoretical proposals on the developmental roots of social evaluation skills and a sense of fairness. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4901822 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4901822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4901821&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01050.x AbstractBefore they enter preschool, children vary greatly in their numerical and mathematical knowledge, and this knowledge predicts their achievement throughout elementary school (e.g. Duncan et al., 2007; Ginsburg & Russell, 1981). Therefore, it is critical that we look to the home environment for parental inputs that may lead to these early variations. Recent work has shown that the amount of number talk that parents engage in with their children is robustly related to a critical aspect of mathematical development – cardinal‐number knowledge (e.g. knowing that the word ‘three’ refers to sets of three entities; Levine, Suriyakham, Rowe, Huttenlocher & Gunderson, 2010). The present study characterizes the different types of number talk that parents produce and investigate... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4901821 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4901821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4910925&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01044.x AbstractInfants attune to their birth language during the second half of infancy. However, internationally adopted children are often uniquely required to attune to their birth language, and then reattune to their adoptive language. Children who were adopted from India into America at ages 6–60 months (N = 8) and had minimal further exposure to their birth languages were compared to age‐matched American non‐adopted controls. Without training, neither group could discriminate a phonemic contrast that occurs in their birth language but not in English. However, after training on the contrast, the adopted group (N = 8) improved significantly and discriminated the contrast more accurately than their non‐adopted peers. While English had explicitly replaced the birth language of... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4910925 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4910925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4901820&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01051.x AbstractAlthough there is much research on infants’ ability to orient in space, little is known regarding the information they use to do so. This research uses a rotating room to evaluate the relative contribution of visual and vestibular information to location of a target following bodily rotation. Adults responded precisely on the basis of visual flow information. Seven‐month‐olds responded mostly on the basis of visual flow, whereas 9‐month‐olds responded mostly on the basis of vestibular information, and 12‐month‐olds responded mostly on the basis of visual information. Unlike adults, infants of all ages showed partial influence by both modalities. Additionally, 7‐month‐olds were capable of using vestibular information when there was no visual information for movemen... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4901820 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4901820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4788706&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01031.x This study investigated the fine‐grained development of the EEG power spectra in early adolescence, and the extent to which it is reflected in changes in peak frequency. It also sought to determine whether sex differences in the EEG power spectra reflect differential patterns of maturation. A group of 56 adolescents were tested at age 10 years and then at two further time‐points approximately 18 months apart. The EEG was recorded during both eyes‐closed and eyes‐open conditions and Fourier transformed to provide estimates of absolute and relative spectral power at 0.5 Hz intervals from 0.5 to 40 Hz. The peak alpha frequency for each individual at each time‐point was also determined for relative spectral power. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis was used to determine the... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4788706 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4788706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762451&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01045.x AbstractA widely used paradigm to study cognitive flexibility in preschoolers is the Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) task. The developmental dynamics of DCCS performance was studied in a cross‐sectional design (N = 93, 3 to 5 years of age) using a computerized version of the standard DCCS task. A model‐based analysis of the data showed that development on the DCCS task is best described as a discontinuous change in performance on the post‐switch phase of the task. In addition to a perseveration group and a switch group, a transitional group that showed shifts between perseverating and switching during the post‐switch trials could be distinguished. Computational models of performance and development on the DCCS task cannot, in their current forms, explain these results.... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762451 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:50:20 +0100 4762451 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762453&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01042.x AbstractWe investigated whether infants can transfer their goal attribution between situations that contain different types of information about the goal. We found that 12‐month‐olds who had attributed a goal based on the causal efficacy of a means–end action generated expectations about the actor’s action in another scenario in which the actor could choose between alternative outcomes. This finding suggests that, by 12 months, infants possess a unitary concept of goal. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762453 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4762453 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762452&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01043.x This study examined the relative efficacy of explicit instruction and indirect priming on young children’s behavior in a task that required a series of choices between a small immediate reward and a larger delayed reward. One hundread and six 4‐year‐old children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions involving one of two goals (maximize rewards or obtain immediate rewards) and one of two types of instruction (indirect priming using stories or explicit verbal instructions). Children were more likely to make goal‐congruent choices as a result of indirect priming, but there was no effect of explicit instruction, suggesting that indirect approaches to changing young children’s behavior may be more effective than direct approaches under some circumstances. These results have... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762452 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4762452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747271&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01055.x AbstractCognitive development and learning are characterized by diminished reliance on effortful procedures and increased use of memory‐based problem solving. Here we identify the neural correlates of this strategy shift in 7–9‐year‐old children at an important developmental period for arithmetic skill acquisition. Univariate and multivariate approaches were used to contrast brain responses between two groups of children who relied primarily on either retrieval or procedural counting strategies. Children who used retrieval strategies showed greater responses in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex; notably, this was the only brain region which showed univariate differences in signal intensity between the two groups. In contrast, multivariate analysis revealed distinct multivoxe... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747271 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:52:40 +0100 4747271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747274&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01052.x AbstractA visual fixation study tested whether 7‐month‐olds can discriminate between different talkers. The infants were first habituated to talkers producing sentences in either a familiar or unfamiliar language, then heard test sentences from previously unheard speakers, either in the language used for habituation, or in another language. When the language at test mismatched that in habituation, infants always noticed the change. When language remained constant and only talker altered, however, infants detected the change only if the language was the native tongue. Adult listeners with a different native tongue from the infants did not reproduce the discriminability patterns shown by the infants, and infants detected neither voice nor language changes in reversed speech; both these r... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747274 Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4747274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747273&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01053.x AbstractPlaisted, O’Riordan and colleagues (Plaisted, O’Riordan & Baron‐Cohen, 1998; O’Riordan, 2004) showed that school‐age children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are faster at finding targets in certain types of visual search tasks than typical controls. Currently though, there is very little known about the visual search skills of very young children (1–3‐year‐olds) – either typically developing or with ASD. We used an eye‐tracker to measure looking behavior, providing fine‐grained measures of visual search in 2.5‐year‐old toddlers with and without ASD (this representing the age by which many children may first receive a diagnosis of ASD). Importantly, our paradigm required no verbal instructions or feedback, making the task appropriate for... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747273 Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4747273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747272&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01054.x AbstractThe present study examined the effects of a 9‐month randomized control physical activity intervention aimed at improving cardiorespiratory fitness on changes in working memory performance in preadolescent children relative to a waitlist control group. Participants performed a modified Sternberg task, which manipulated working memory demands based on encoding set sizes, while task performance and the contingent negative variation (CNV) event‐related brain potential were measured. Analyses revealed that the physical activity intervention led to increases in cardiorespiratory fitness and improved Sternberg task performance. Further, the beneficial effects of the physical activity intervention were greater for a task condition requiring greater working memory demands. In addition, ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747272 Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4747272 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714378&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01049.x AbstractThe ability to infer the referential intentions of speakers is a crucial part of learning a language. Previous research has uncovered various contextual and social cues that children may use to do this. Here we provide the first evidence that children also use speech disfluencies to infer speaker intention. Disfluencies (e.g. filled pauses ‘uh’ and ‘um’) occur in predictable locations, such as before infrequent or discourse‐new words. We conducted an eye‐tracking study to investigate whether young children can make use of this distributional information in order to predict a speaker’s intended referent. Our results reveal that young children (ages 2;4 to 2;8) reliably attend to speech disfluencies early in lexical development and are able to use disfluencies in online... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714378 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:49:19 +0100 4714378 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4692938&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01022.x This study included 4‐year‐old children (N = 101) who performed computerized training (15 min/day for 25 days) of either non‐verbal reasoning, working memory, a combination of both, or a placebo version of the combined training. Compared to the placebo group, the non‐verbal reasoning training group improved significantly on Gf when analysed as a latent variable of several reasoning tasks. Smaller gains on problem solving tests were seen in the combination training group. The group training working memory improved on measures of working memory, but not on problem solving tests. This study shows that it is possible to improve Gf with training, which could have implications for early interventions in children. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4692938 Sat, 09 Apr 2011 05:18:03 +0100 4692938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4692937&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01063.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4692937 Sat, 09 Apr 2011 05:17:57 +0100 4692937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676325&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01036.x AbstractEffects of culture‐specific experience on musical rhythm perception are evident by 12 months of age, but the role of culture‐general rhythm processing constraints during early infancy has not been explored. Using a habituation procedure with 5‐ and 7‐month‐old infants, we investigated effects of temporal interval ratio complexity on discrimination of standard from novel musical patterns containing 200‐ms disruptions. Infants were tested in three ratio conditions: simple (2:1), which is typical in Western music, complex (3:2), which is typical in other musical cultures, and highly complex (7:4), which is relatively rare in music throughout the world. Unlike adults and older infants, whose accuracy was predicted by familiarity, younger infants were influenced by ratio c... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676325 Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4676325 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676324&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01037.x AbstractIn adults, the onset of coherent motion compared to random motion in a random dot kinematogram leads to a right hemispheric amplitude advantage of the N2 response. The source of this asymmetry is believed to lie in the motion selective MT+ cortex. Here, we tested whether the right tempo‐parietal N2 component shows a similar regularity in children. In particular, we were interested in whether coherent vs. incoherent motion modulates the amplitude of N2 similarly in dyslexic and control children. We found higher N2 amplitude for coherent compared to random motion in the right hemisphere for controls but not for dyslexics. This effect was related to topographical differences of N2 amplitude for random motion between the studied groups and was accompanied by longer reaction times to ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676324 Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4676324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676322&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01039.x AbstractThe ‘other‐race’ effect describes the phenomenon in which faces are difficult to distinguish from one another if they belong to an ethnic or racial group to which the observer has had little exposure. Adult observers typically display multiple forms of recognition error for other‐race faces, and infants exhibit behavioral evidence of a developing other‐race effect at about 9 months of age. The neural correlates of the adult other‐race effect have been identified using ERPs and fMRI, but the effects of racial category on infants’ neural response to face stimuli have to date not been described. We examine two distinct components of the infant ERP response to human faces and demonstrate through the use of computer‐generated ‘hybrid’ faces that the observed other�... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676322 Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4676322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631200&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01029.x AbstractGeometrical concepts are critical to a host of human cognitive achievements, from maps to measurement to mathematics, and both the development of these concepts, and their variation by gender, have long been studied. Most studies of geometrical reasoning, however, present children with materials containing both geometric and non‐geometric information, and with tasks that are open to multiple solution strategies. Here we present kindergarten children with a task requiring a focus on geometry: navigation in a small‐scale space by a purely geometric map. Children spontaneously extracted and used relationships of both distance and angle in the maps, without prior demonstration, instruction, or feedback, but they failed to use the sense information that distinguishes an array from i... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631200 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4631200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631199&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01030.x We presented naïve adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with the elevated spoon problem, and observed how monkeys learned the affordances of spoons over sessions. Strikingly, monkeys developed two different strategies for efficient spoon transport in just 12 to 36 trials. In subsequent testing with a novel double bowl spoon approximately 1 year later, monkeys demonstrated that they were attending to the baited spoon bowl and continued to select efficient grips for transporting the spoon. Monkey data were contrasted with previous studies in human infants using a perception‐action perspective in an effort to understand the fundamentals of tool use and motor planning that may be common in the development of these abilities across species and their origins in human behavior. (Source: Dev... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631199 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4631199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631198&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01032.x AbstractOur objectives were to document and examine socioeconomic gradients across a comprehensive set of child development measures in a population living in extreme poverty, and to interpret these gradients in light of findings from the neuroscience literature. We assessed a nationally representative sample of 3–6‐year‐old children (n = 1332) from 150 communities of Madagascar using standard tests of development. We found that children whose families were in the top wealth quintile or whose mothers had secondary education performed significantly better across almost all measures of cognitive and language development and had better linear growth compared with children of women in the lowest wealth quintile or women with no education. These differences between children of low and h... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631198 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4631198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631197&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01033.x AbstractThirty‐ and 36‐month‐old English speakers’ (N = 106) ability to produce jokes, distinguish between humorous and sincere intentions, and distinguish between English‐ and foreign‐language speakers, was examined in two tasks. In the Giving task, an experimenter requested one of two familiar objects, and a confederate always gave her the wrong object. In the Naming task, the confederate mislabeled familiar objects. In the English‐speaking conditions, the confederate laughed after doing the wrong thing (English‐Humor) or said, ‘There!’ (English‐Sincere). In the Foreign conditions, the French‐ or Italian‐speaking confederate laughed (Foreign‐Humor) or said, ‘D’accord!’ or ‘Va bene!’ (Foreign‐Sincere). When preschoolers were subsequently requested t... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631197 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4631197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626539&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01038.x We examined the independent contributions of prenatal cigarette exposure and infant learning stimulation, as well as their inter‐relationships in predicting variations in the proficiency of executive attention, a core element of cognitive control and self‐regulation. Participants were an ethnic‐racially, socio‐economically diverse sample of 249 children followed from birth in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. We obtained histories of prenatal exposure to alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs, and we assessed socio‐economic status and learning stimulation during a home visit when the participants were infants. In childhood we utilized the Attention Networks Test to assess the proficiency of executive attention during two home visits, one year apart. Account... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626539 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4626539 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676321&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01040.x AbstractThis paper investigates a two‐stage model of infants’ imitative learning from observed actions and their effects. According to this model, the observation of another person’s action activates the corresponding motor code in the infants’ motor repertoire (i.e. leads to motor resonance). The second process guiding imitative behavior results from the observed action effects. If the modeled action is followed by a salient action effect, the representation of this effect (i.e. perceptual code) will be associated with the activated motor code. If the infant later aims to obtain the same effect, the corresponding motor program will be activated and the model’s action will therefore be imitated. Accordingly, the model assumes that for the imitation of novel actions the modeled ac... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676321 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4676321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631196&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01034.x AbstractThis research investigated 12‐month‐olds’ ability to use person‐specific language to determine to which of several absent things a person is referring. Infants were introduced to two experimenters who played separately with a different ball. One researcher asked infants to retrieve her object when both balls were hidden. Infants selected the correct object when researchers used the pronoun my, but failed to do so when the was used. The present research provides the first evidence of 12‐month‐olds’ comprehension of possessive pronouns and indicates that infants use person‐specific language to resolve reference. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631196 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4631196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626538&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2011.01041.x AbstractFunctional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine functional anatomy of attention to social (eye gaze) and nonsocial (arrow) communicative stimuli in late childhood and in a disorder defined by atypical processing of social stimuli, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Children responded to a target word (‘LEFT’/‘RIGHT’) in the context of a distracting arrow or averted gaze pointing in a direction that was congruent, incongruent, or neutral (bar without arrowheads, central gaze) relative to the target word. Despite being irrelevant to the target task, both arrow and averted gaze facilitated responses (Congruent vs. Neutral trials) to the same extent in the two groups and led to interference (Incongruent vs. Congruent trials), which was greater from arrows in ASD than co... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626538 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4626538 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4494662&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01028.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4494662 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:25:40 +0100 4494662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4494661&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01027.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4494661 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:25:39 +0100 4494661 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265005&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01023.x In this study, we tested a novel, child‐friendly paradigm for investigating the organization of face, bird and car exemplars. Children ages 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12 and adults were presented with 50/50 morphs of typical and atypical face, bird and car parent images. Participants were asked to judge whether the 50/50 morph more strongly resembled the typical or the atypical parent image. Young and older children and adults showed a systematic bias to the atypical faces and birds, but no bias toward the atypical cars. Collectively, these findings argue that by the age of 3, children encode and organize faces, birds and cars in a perceptual space that is strikingly similar to that of adults. Category organization for both children and adults follows Krumhansl’s (1978) distance... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265005 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265004&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01024.x AbstractFor the last 20 years, developmental psychologists have measured the variability in lexical development of infants and toddlers using the MacArthur‐Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) – the most widely used parental report forms for assessing language and communication skills in infants and toddlers. We show that CDI reports can serve as a basis for estimating infants’ and toddlers’total vocabulary sizes, beyond serving as a tool for assessing their language development relative to other infants and toddlers. We investigate the link between estimated total vocabulary size and raw CDI scores from a mathematical perspective, using both single developmental trajectories and population data. The method capitalizes on robust regularities, such as the overlap of ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265004 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265004 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265003&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01026.x AbstractThe present study aimed to investigate whether perceptual completion is available at birth, in the absence of any visual experience. An extremely underspecified kinetic visual display composed of four spatially separated fragments arranged to give rise to an illusory rectangle that occluded a vertical rod (illusory condition) or rotated so as not to elicit perceptual grouping (control condition) was constructed. After newborns’ ability to detect the particular kind of rod‐and‐box display used in the present study had been probed (Experiment 1), they were habituated to the illusory rod‐and‐box display (Experiment 2), to the control display that did not contain illusory contours (Experiment 3), and to a standard real rod‐and‐box display akin to those used in previous in... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265003 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265002&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01019.x AbstractEarly post‐natal nutrition influences later development, but there are no studies comparing brain function in healthy infants as a function of dietary intake even though the major infant diets differ significantly in nutrient composition. We studied brain responses (event‐related potentials; ERPs) to speech sounds for infants who were fed either breast milk (BF), milk‐based formula (MF), or soy formula (SF) during the first 6 months of life. Two syllables presented in an oddball paradigm elicited a late positive wave (P350) from temporal and frontal brain regions involved in language processes. All groups showed significantly greater response amplitudes to the infrequent syllable across sites at 3 months and frontally at 6 months, but significant discrimination at tempo... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265002 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265001&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01021.x AbstractStudies in mammals have implicated the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in processes of bond formation and stress modulation, yet the involvement of OT in human bonding throughout life remains poorly understood. We assessed OT in the plasma, saliva, and urine of 112 mothers and fathers interacting with their 4–6‐month‐old infants. Parent–infant interactions were micro‐coded for parent and child’s social behaviors and for the temporal coordination of their socio‐affective cues. Parents were interviewed regarding their attachment to the infant and reported on bonding to own parents, romantic attachment, and parenting stress. Results indicated that OT in plasma (pOT) and saliva (sOT) were inter‐related and were unrelated to OT in urine (uOT). pOT and sOT in mothers and fathe... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265001 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265001 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265000&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01025.x This study explored the electrophysiology underlying intonational phrase processing at different stages of syntax acquisition. Developmental studies suggest that children’s syntactic skills advance significantly between 2 and 3 years of age. Here, children of three age groups were tested on phrase‐level prosodic processing before and after this developmental phase, while their brain activity was recorded. The Closure Positive Shift (CPS), which indexes the perception of intonational phrasing in adults, served as dependent variable. The event‐related brain potentials of 3‐ and 6‐year‐olds, but not of 21‐month‐olds, showed a CPS. These results suggest that prosodic phrase processing, as indicated by the CPS, is established only later during children’s development, pointin... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265000 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265000 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265006&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01035.x AbstractThe presence of peers increases risk taking among adolescents but not adults. We posited that the presence of peers may promote adolescent risk taking by sensitizing brain regions associated with the anticipation of potential rewards. Using fMRI, we measured brain activity in adolescents, young adults, and adults as they made decisions in a simulated driving task. Participants completed one task block while alone, and one block while their performance was observed by peers in an adjacent room. During peer observation blocks, adolescents selectively demonstrated greater activation in reward‐related brain regions, including the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex, and activity in these regions predicted subsequent risk taking. Brain areas associated with cognitive control wer... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265006 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265006 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245014&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01020.x AbstractA default mode network of brain regions is known to demonstrate coordinated activity during the resting state. While the default mode network is well characterized in adults, few investigations have focused upon its development. We scanned 9–13‐year‐old children with diffusion tensor imaging and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We identified resting‐state networks using Independent Component Analysis and tested whether the functional connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) depends upon the maturation of the underlying cingulum white matter tract. To determine the generalizability of this relationship, we also tested whether functional connectivity depends on white matter maturity between bilateral l... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245014 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4245014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241476&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01007.x AbstractThe phonological deficit theory of dyslexia assumes that degraded speech sound representations might hamper the acquisition of stable letter–speech sound associations necessary for learning to read. However, there is only scarce and mainly indirect evidence for this assumed letter–speech sound association problem. The present study aimed at clarifying the nature and the role of letter–speech sound association problems in dyslexia by analysing event‐related potentials (ERP) of 11‐year‐old dyslexic children to speech sounds in isolation or combined with letters, which were presented either simultaneously with or 200 ms before the speech sounds. Recent studies with normal readers revealed that letters systematically modulated speech sound processing in an early (mismatch... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241476 Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4241476 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241475&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01010.x AbstractJoint attention develops during the first year of life but little is known about its effects on long‐term memory. We investigated whether joint attention modulates long‐term memory in 9‐month‐old infants. Infants were familiarized with visually presented objects in either of two conditions that differed in the degree of joint attention (high versus low). EEG indicators in response to old and novel objects were probed directly after the familiarization phase (immediate recognition), and following a 1‐week delay (delayed recognition). In immediate recognition, the amplitude of positive slow‐wave activity was modulated by joint attention. In the delayed recognition, the amplitude of the Pb component differentiated between high and low joint attention. In addition, the posi... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241475 Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4241475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241474&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01011.x AbstractPrevious research shows that sensory and motor systems interact during perception, but how these connections among systems are created during development is unknown. The current work exposes young children to novel ‘verbs’ and objects through either (a) actively exploring the objects or (b) by seeing an experimenter interact with the objects. Results demonstrate that the motor system is recruited during auditory perception only after learning involved self‐generated interactions with objects. Action observation itself led to above‐baseline activation in one motor region during visual perception, but was still significantly less active than after self‐generated action. Therefore, in the developing brain, associations are built upon real‐world interactions of body and env... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241474 Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4241474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241473&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01015.x AbstractIn adults, native language phonology has strong perceptual effects. Previous work has shown that Japanese speakers, unlike French speakers, break up illegal sequences of consonants with illusory vowels: they report hearing abna as abuna. To study the development of phonological grammar, we compared Japanese and French infants in a discrimination task. In Experiment 1, we observed that 14‐month‐old Japanese infants, in contrast to French infants, failed to discriminate phonetically varied sets of abna‐type and abuna‐type stimuli. In Experiment 2, 8‐month‐old French and Japanese did not differ significantly from each other. In Experiment 3, we found that, like adults, Japanese infants can discriminate abna from abuna when phonetic variability is reduced (single item). The... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241473 Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4241473 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241472&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01016.x AbstractThe ability to keep information active in working memory is one of the cornerstones of cognitive development. Prior studies have demonstrated that regions which are important for working memory performance in adults, such as dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and superior parietal cortex, become increasingly engaged across school‐aged development. The primary goal of the present functional MRI study was to investigate the involvement of these regions in the development of working memory manipulation relative to maintenance functions under different loads. We measured activation in DLPFC, VLPFC, and superior parietal cortex during the delay period of a verbal working memory task in 11–13‐year‐old children and young adults. We fou... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241472 Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4241472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4213290&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01003.x AbstractHappé and Loth (2002) describe word learning as a ‘privileged domain’ in the development of a theory of mind. We test this claim in a series of experiments based on the Sally‐Anne paradigm. Three‐ and 4‐year‐old children’s ability to represent others’ false beliefs was investigated in tasks that required the child either to predict the actions of a protagonist in a story or to learn the meaning of a new word used by the protagonist. Experiment 1 replicated previous findings of better performance in a false belief word‐learning task compared to a false belief action‐prediction task. However, systematic manipulation of the task parameters in Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that this performance discrepancy disappeared when tasks were equated in their ‘referential ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4213290 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4213290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4213289&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01000.x AbstractYoung children interpret some acts performed by adults as normatively governed, that is, as capable of being performed either rightly or wrongly. In previous experiments, children have made this interpretation when adults introduced them to novel acts with normative language (e.g. ‘this is the way it goes’), along with pedagogical cues signaling culturally important information, and with social‐pragmatic marking that this action is a token of a familiar type. In the current experiment, we exposed children to novel actions with no normative language, and we systematically varied pedagogical and social‐pragmatic cues in an attempt to identify which of them, if either, would lead children to normative interpretations. We found that young 3‐year‐old children inferred normat... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4213289 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4213289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4196573&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01005.x AbstractThe goal of this study was to determine whether intensive training can ameliorate cognitive skills in children. Children aged 7 to 9 from low socioeconomic backgrounds participated in one of two cognitive training programs for 60 minutes/day and 2 days/week, for a total of 8 weeks. Both training programs consisted of commercially available computerized and non‐computerized games. Reasoning training emphasized planning and relational integration; speed training emphasized rapid visual detection and rapid motor responses. Standard assessments of reasoning ability – the Test of Non‐Verbal Intelligence (TONI‐3) and cognitive speed (Coding B from WISC IV) – were administered to all children before and after training. Neither group was exposed to these standardized test... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4196573 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4196573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4196572&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01004.x AbstractSpeech scientists have long proposed that formant exaggeration in infant‐directed speech plays an important role in language acquisition. This event‐related potential (ERP) study investigated neural coding of formant‐exaggerated speech in 6–12‐month‐old infants. Two synthetic /i/ vowels were presented in alternating blocks to test the effects of formant exaggeration. ERP waveform analysis showed significantly enhanced N250 for formant exaggeration, which was more prominent in the right hemisphere than the left. Time‐frequency analysis indicated increased neural synchronization for processing formant‐exaggerated speech in the delta band at frontal‐central‐parietal electrode sites as well as in the theta band at frontal‐central sites. Minimum norm estimates furt... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4196572 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4196572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158824&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01002.x AbstractWilliams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder associated with severe visuospatial deficits, relatively strong language skills, heightened social interest, and increased attention to faces. On the basis of the visuospatial deficits, this disorder has been characterized primarily as a deficit of the dorsal stream, the occipitoparietal brain regions that subserve visuospatial processing. However, some evidence indicates that this disorder may also affect the development of the ventral stream, the occipitotemporal cortical regions that subserve face and object recognition. The present studies examined ventral stream function in WS, with the hypothesis that faces would produce a relatively more mature pattern of ventral occipitotemporal activation, relative to other objects that are al... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158824 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158823&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01008.x AbstractIndividual differences in nonword repetition are associated with language and literacy development, but few studies have considered the extent to which learning to read influences phonological skills as indexed by nonword repetition performance. We explored this question using a latent variable longitudinal design. Reading, oral language and nonword repetition were assessed in 215 children at age 6 years and one year later at age 7. Reading at 6 years predicted growth in nonword repetition between 6 and 7 years, independent of the effects of oral language skills and the autoregressive effect of nonword repetition at 6 years, but nonword repetition was not a longitudinal predictor of the growth of reading. These findings demonstrate that learning to read has a powerful effec... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158823 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158822&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01009.x AbstractAdults can improve their performance on many perceptual tasks with training, but when does the response to training become mature? To investigate this question, we trained 11‐year‐olds, 14‐year‐olds and adults on a basic auditory task (temporal‐interval discrimination) using a multiple‐session training regimen known to be effective for adults. The adolescents all began with performance in the adult range. However, while all of the adults improved across sessions, none of the 11‐year‐olds and only half of the 14‐year‐olds did. The adolescents who failed to learn did so even though the 10‐session training regimen provided twice the number of sessions required by adults to reach asymptotic performance. Further, over the course of each session, the performance of ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158822 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158821&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01001.x We report an experiment that examined whether children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) spontaneously converge, or align, syntactic structure with a conversational partner. Children with ASD were more likely to produce a passive structure to describe a picture after hearing their interlocutor use a passive structure to describe an unrelated picture when playing a card game. Furthermore, they converged syntactic structure with their interlocutor to the same extent as did both chronological and verbal age‐matched controls. These results suggest that the linguistic impairment that is characteristic of children with ASD, and in particular their difficulty with interactive language usage, cannot be explained in terms of a general deficit in linguistic imitation. (Source: Developmental Sc... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158821 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158820&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00997.x AbstractAlteration of the organization of social and motivational neuroanatomical circuitry must have been an essential step in the evolution of human language. Development of vocal communication across species, particularly birdsong, and new research on the neural organization and evolution of social and motivational circuitry, together suggest that human language is the result of an obligatory link of a powerful cortico‐striatal learning system, and subcortical socio‐motivational circuitry. (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158820 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158819&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00998.x AbstractThe present study tested infants’ ability to assess and compare quantities of a food substance. Contrary to previous findings, the results suggest that by 10 months of age infants can quantify non‐cohesive substances, and that this ability is different in important ways from their ability to quantify discrete objects: (1) In contrast to even much younger infants’ ability to discriminate discrete quantities that differ by a 1:2 ratio, infants here required a 1:4 ratio in order to reliably select the larger of two substance quantities. And (2), unlike with objects, infants required multiple cues in order to determine which of two quantities of substance was larger. Moreover, (3) although 14.5‐month‐olds were able to compare amounts of substance in memory, 10‐ to 12‐mo... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158819 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133097&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01006.x AbstractTo investigate the interaction between segmental and supra‐segmental stress‐related information in early word learning, two experiments were conducted with 20‐ to 24‐month‐old English‐learning children. In an adaptation of the object categorization study designed by Nazzi and Gopnik (2001), children were presented with pairs of novel objects whose labels differed by their initial consonant (Experiment 1) or their medial consonant (Experiment 2). Words were produced with a stress initial (trochaic) or a stress final (iambic) pattern. In both experiments successful word learning was established when the to‐be‐remembered contrast was embedded in a stressed syllable, but not when embedded in unstressed syllables. This was independent of the overall word pattern, trochai... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133097 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4133097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4196571&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01012.x AbstractLatent variable modeling methods have demonstrated utility for understanding the structure of executive control (EC) across development. These methods are utilized to better characterize the relation between EC and mathematics achievement in the preschool period, and to understand contributing sources of individual variation. Using the sample and battery of laboratory tasks described in Wiebe, Espy and Charak (2008), latent EC was related strongly to emergent mathematics achievement in preschool, and was robust after controlling for crystallized intellectual skills. The relation between crystallized skills and emergent mathematics differed between girls and boys, although the predictive association between EC and mathematics did not. Two dimensions of the child ’s social enviro... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4196571 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4196571 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4158818&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00999.x AbstractTheories accounting for the development of analogical reasoning tend to emphasize either the centrality of relational knowledge accretion or changes in information processing capability. Simulations in LISA (Hummel & Holyoak, 1997, 2003), a neurally inspired computer model of analogical reasoning, allow us to explore how these factors may collaboratively contribute to the development of analogy in young children. Simulations explain systematic variations in United States and Hong Kong children’s performance on analogies between familiar scenes (Richland, Morrison & Holyoak, 2006; Richland, Chang, Morrison & Au, 2010). Specifically, changes in inhibition levels in the model’s working‐memory system explain the developmental progression in US children’s ability to ... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4158818 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4158818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133096&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01017.x This study investigated peripheral vision (at least 30° eccentric to fixation) development in profoundly deaf children without cochlear implantation, and compared this to age‐matched hearing controls as well as to deaf and hearing adult data. Deaf and hearing children between the ages of 5 and 15 years were assessed using a new, specifically paediatric designed method of static perimetry. The deaf group (N = 25) were 14 females and 11 males, mean age 9.92 years (range 5–15 years). The hearing group (N = 64) were 34 females, 30 males, mean age 9.13 years (range 5–15 years). All participants had good visual acuity in both eyes (< 0.200 LogMAR). Accuracy of detection and reaction time to briefly presented LED stimuli of three light intensities, at eccentricities between 30° and 85�... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133096 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4133096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4117922&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01018.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4117922 Sat, 30 Oct 2010 01:43:29 +0100 4117922 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4117921&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01013.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4117921 Sat, 30 Oct 2010 01:43:24 +0100 4117921 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4117920&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.01014.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4117920 Sat, 30 Oct 2010 01:43:24 +0100 4117920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938178&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00992.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938178 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938177&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00996.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938177 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938176&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00991.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938176 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938176 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938175&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00993.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938175 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938174&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00995.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938174 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938173&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00994.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938173 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938173 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3914647&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00984.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3914647 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:01:17 +0100 3914647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899059&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00990.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899059 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:29:06 +0100 3899059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938179&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00985.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938179 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3938179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3783958&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00961.x Imitation requires the imitator to solve the correspondence problem [ndash] to translate visual information from modelled action into matching motor output. It has been widely accepted for some 30 years that the correspondence problem is solved by a specialized, innate cognitive mechanism. This is the conclusion of a poverty of the stimulus argument, realized in the active intermodal matching model of imitation, which assumes that human neonates can imitate a range of body movements. An alternative, wealth of the stimulus argument, embodied in the associative sequence learning model of imitation, proposes that the correspondence problem is solved by sensorimotor learning, and that the experience necessary for this kind of learning is provided by the sociocultural environment during human d... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3783958 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3783958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3764063&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00978.x The perception of speech and music requires processing of variations in spectra and amplitude over different time intervals. Near-term fetuses can discriminate acoustic features, such as frequencies and spectra, but whether they can process complex auditory streams, such as speech sequences and more specifically their temporal variations, fast or relatively slow acoustic variations, is unclear. We recorded the cardiac activity of 82 near-term fetuses (38 weeks GA) in quiet sleep during a silent control condition and four 15 s streams presented at 90 dB SPL Leq: two piano melodies with opposite contours, a natural Icelandic sentence and a chimera of the sentence [ndash] all its spectral information was replaced with broadband noise, leaving its specific temporal variations in amplitude inta... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3764063 Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3764063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718165&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00987.x Behavioral research suggests that two cognitive systems are at the foundations of numerical thinking: one for representing 1[ndash]3 objects in parallel and one for representing and comparing large, approximate numerical magnitudes. We tested for dissociable neural signatures of these systems in preverbal infants by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) as 6[ndash]7.5-month-old infants (n = 32) viewed dot arrays containing either small (1[ndash]3) or large (8[ndash]32) sets of objects in a number alternation paradigm. If small and large numbers are represented by the same neural system, then the brain response to the arrays should scale with ratio for both number ranges, a behavioral and brain signature of the approximate numerical magnitude system obtained in animals and in human adul... Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718165 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3718165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3914648&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00989.x (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3914648 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3914648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843941&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2009.00922.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843941 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843940&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2009.00908.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843940 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843939&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2009.00913.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843939 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843938&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2009.00910.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843938 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843937&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2009.00914.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843937 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843936&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2009.00900.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843936 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843935&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00983.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843935 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843935 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3843934&cid=s_27182_144_f&fid=27182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1111%252Fj.1467-7687.2010.00982.x Abstract (Source: Developmental Science) Developmental Science journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3843934 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3843934