INFANT PERCEPTION OF HUMAN ACTION: TOWARD A DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate individual differences in the development of the ability to perceive human action. We examined: (1) the environment provided by mothers (as indexed by maternal motionese); (2) infant motor abilities; and (3) infant processing of biological movement (as indexed by looking times and gamma-band time-frequency analysis of EEG). In Experiment One it was found that, as a group, eight-month old infants looked longer at video clips of impossible body movements than possible movements. However, this effect was mainly due to the subset of infants with relatively high fine motor skills. In Experiment Two, Gamma frequency analysis of EEG resulting from passive viewing of possible and impossible action indicated that only those infants with relative high fine motor skill processed these stimuli differently. When taken together, these studies suggest a potential relationship between the infant's own ability to perform fine motor action and the perception of biologically possible human movement.

Keywords: Gamma oscillations, biological motion, infants, EEG, action perception