The Origins of Theory of Mind in Infant Social Cognition: Investigating Longitudinal Pathways from Intention Understanding and Joint Attention to Preschool Theory of Mind

Brandone, Amanda C.; Stout, Wyntre

doi:10.1080/15248372.2022.2146117

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Although subtle atypicalities in RJA instances, like shorter duration of first fixation at the object of joint attention, persist along the lifespan (Falck‐Ytter et al, 2015; Freeth et al, 2010; Swanson et al, 2013; Swanson & Siller, 2013, 2014) and may be related to atypical neural correlates of RJA in ASD, the frequency of RJA acts tends to align to typical levels with development (Chawarska et al, 2003; Mundy et al, 1994; Nation & Penny, 2008). IJA is in turn more often identified as atypical in ASD using a simple measurement like frequency of occurrence at different ages and has been considered a more stable marker of ASD and a stronger predictor of downstream social‐cognitive development than RJA (Brandone & Stout, 2023; Ibañez et al, 2013; Mundy et al, 2009; Nyström et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural correlates of response to joint attention in 2‐to‐5‐year‐olds in relation to ASD and social‐communicative abilities: An fNIRS and behavioral study

Piatti,

Van der Paelt,

Warreyn

et al. 2024

Autism Research

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with life‐long challenges with social cognition, and one of its earliest and most common manifestations is atypical joint attention, which is a pivotal skill in social‐cognitive and linguistic development. Early interventions for ASD children often focus on training initiation of joint attention (IJA) and response to joint attention bids (RJA), which are important for social communication and cognition. Here, we used functional near‐infrared spectroscopy and behavioral measures to test typically developing (TD, n = 17) and ASD children (n = 18), to address the relationship between the neural correlates of RJA and social‐communicative behavior. Group‐level differences were present for RJA‐specific activation over right temporal sites, where TD children showed higher levels of activation during RJA than ASD children, whereas the two groups did not differ in the control condition. Correlations between neural activation and behavioral traits suggest that, in ASD children, neural activation during RJA is related to the frequency of RJA behavior when the former is measured over left temporal sites, and to social affect symptoms when considered for right temporal sites. Possible implications of the evidenced correlations are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural correlates of response to joint attention in 2‐to‐5‐year‐olds in relation to ASD and social‐communicative abilities: An fNIRS and behavioral study

Piatti,

Van der Paelt,

Warreyn

et al. 2024

Autism Research

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“…As joint attention entails recognizing what other people attend to, and supports learning about their communicative and action goals, it has been proposed to be a precursor of ToM. Indeed, several longitudinal studies have shown positive behavioral correlations between joint attention and ToM [37][38][39][40][41][42] . Further, ToM in older children and adults recruits brain regions partly overlapping with those of joint attention, including the mPFC, STS, and TPJ 43 .…”

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confidence: 99%

“…As such, it critically shapes infants' capacity to learn from others and their acquisition of social cognitive skills. Indeed, several longitudinal studies have shown positive behavioral correlations between joint attention and ToM [36][37][38][39][40][41] . The role of joint attention in early social cognitive development suggests that the neural maturation supporting joint attention in infancy may be predictive of later-developing ToM capacity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Theory of Mind in children from the infant connectome

Schüler,

Berger,

Grosse Wiesmann

2024

Preprint

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A pivotal developmental milestone is reached around 9 months when infants begin to coordinate their attention with others. Joint attention acts as a catalyst for infants' learning and is proposed to predict later social cognitive development, including understanding others' minds (Theory of Mind, ToM). However, neural markers predicting joint attention development and their predictive value for later social cognitive abilities remain unknown. Here, we trained a model to identify whole-brain connectivity patterns predictive of joint attention from resting-state fMRI data of 8-15-month-old infants. The model significantly predicted joint attention scores in an independent infant sample, beyond general development. Dominant connections lay within the default network and its interaction with the ventral attention network. Crucially, this connectome also predicted later ToM in children aged 2-5 years. Beyond providing an early marker for individual differences in social cognitive development, these findings have high potential for the early diagnosis of social cognitive disorders.

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Implicit False Beliefs: The State of Art

Lebedeva,

Ilina

2024

Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology

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<p style="text-align: justify;">The article presents a review of a number of modern foreign studies of implicit false beliefs in young children with typical development, hearing impairments, autism spectrum disorders, and primates. The results of studies performed using different methodological paradigms for assessing early development of mental models: violation of expectations and anticipatory looking are analyzed. The results of research on the search for the biological basis of the origins of social cognition using functional near-infrared spectroscopy are presented, as well as the results of research on the relationship between possible predictors of theory of mind (understanding the purpose of another's actions, joint attention, implicit false beliefs) and the success of social cognition in preschool age under typical development. Theoretical conceptualizations of two theory of mind systems are described: the minimal one and the theory of mind. Immediate prospects for future research to resolve existing replication crises and prevent new ones are outlined.</p>

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The Origins of Theory of Mind in Infant Social Cognition: Investigating Longitudinal Pathways from Intention Understanding and Joint Attention to Preschool Theory of Mind

Cited by 4 publications

References 78 publications

Neural correlates of response to joint attention in 2‐to‐5‐year‐olds in relation to ASD and social‐communicative abilities: An fNIRS and behavioral study

Neural correlates of response to joint attention in 2‐to‐5‐year‐olds in relation to ASD and social‐communicative abilities: An fNIRS and behavioral study

Predicting Theory of Mind in children from the infant connectome

Implicit False Beliefs: The State of Art

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