Imitation in neonatal chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes</i>)

Myowa‐Yamakoshi, Masako; Tomonaga, Masaki; Tanaka, Masayuki; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2004.00364.x

Cited by 168 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…First demonstrated in humans (Meltzoff & Moore 1977, it has been subsequently shown in apes (Myowa 1996;Myowa-Yamakoshi et al 2004) and monkeys (Ferrari et al 2006).…”

Section: From Mirror Neurons To Behaviour: 'Direct' and 'Indirect' Pamentioning

confidence: 94%

From monkey mirror neurons to primate behaviours: possible ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ pathways

Ferrari

Bonini

Fogassi

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

110

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The discovery of mirror neurons (MNs), deemed to be at the basis of action understanding, could constitute the potential solution to the 'correspondence problem' between one's own and others' action that is crucial for of imitative behaviours. However, it is still to be clarified whether, and how, several imitative phenomena, differing in terms of complexity and cognitive effort, could be explained within a unified framework based on MNs. Here we propose that MNs could differently contribute to distinct imitative behaviours by means of two anatomo-functional pathways, subjected to changes during development. A 'direct mirror pathway', directly influencing the descending motor output, would be responsible for neonatal and automatic imitation. This proposal is corroborated by some new behavioural evidences provided here. During development, the increased control of voluntary movements and the capacity to efficiently suppress automatic motor activation during action observation assign to the core MNs regions essentially perceptuo-cognitive functions. These functions would be exploited by an 'indirect mirror pathway' from the core regions of the MN system to prefrontal cortex. This latter would play a key role in parsing, storing and organizing motor representations, allowing the emergence of more efficient and complex imitative behaviours such as response facilitation and true imitation.

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“…First demonstrated in humans (Meltzoff & Moore 1977, it has been subsequently shown in apes (Myowa 1996;Myowa-Yamakoshi et al 2004) and monkeys (Ferrari et al 2006).…”

Section: From Mirror Neurons To Behaviour: 'Direct' and 'Indirect' Pamentioning

confidence: 94%

From monkey mirror neurons to primate behaviours: possible ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ pathways

Ferrari

Bonini

Fogassi

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Neonatal imitation of facial gestures is not an evolutionary acquisition of humans alone. Infants of chimpanzees imitate from the first week of life until they are about two to three months old (Myowa 1996;Bard & Russell 1999;Myowa-Yamakoshi et al 2004), while infant macaques (Ferrari et al 2006) imitate only in the first days of life. Social psychologists have reported many instances in which imitation occurs automatically and unconsciously, and have highlighted its role in constituting a foundation for social communication and for fostering a sense of 'affiliation' among humans (Dijksterhuis & Bargh 2001;van Baaren et al 2009).…”

Section: A Comparative Approach To the Study Of Imitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological perspectives on the mechanisms of imitation

Rumiati

Carmo

Corradi‐Dell’Acqua

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Cognitive neuroscientists have contributed to the understanding of imitation according to their expertise. Neuropsychologists first established over a century ago that lesions to the left hemisphere of right-handed individuals lead to a dramatic reduction of their ability to imitate gestures. In contrast, after frontal lobe damage, patients may experience severe difficulties in inhibiting their imitative tendency. These findings suggested that our tendency to imitate is mostly sustained by the left hemisphere and that we normally manage successfully to keep it under control. Neuropsychologists went on investigating other aspects of gesture imitation. These include the existence of putative mechanisms involved in imitating different types of gestures (e.g. meaningful and meaningless or transitive and intransitive), the strategic control over these mechanisms and whether there are differences in imitation depending on the action goal or the body part used. Based on neuropsychological findings, some cognitive models of gesture imitation have been forwarded, the most influential of which will be reviewed here. In particular, reference will be made to the dual route model and to accounts that associate the imitative deficit to putative degraded body representations.

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“…Chimpanzee and rhesus macaque neonates, for example, both imitate the facial expressions of a human demonstrator in their first few days of life (Ferrari et al, 2006;Myowa-Yamakoshi, Tomonaga, Tanaka, and Matsuzawa, 2004), much like babies (Meltzoff and Moore, 1983). In addition, infant chimpanzees and…”

Section: Development Of Social Cognition In Apes and Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Developmental Psychology: How is Human Cognitive Development Unique?

et al. 2014

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Abstract:The fields of developmental and comparative psychology both seek to illuminate the roots of adult cognitive systems. Developmental studies target the emergence of adult cognitive systems over ontogenetic time, whereas comparative studies investigate the origins of human cognition in our evolutionary history. Despite the long tradition of research in both of these areas, little work has examined the intersection of the two: the study of cognitive development in a comparative perspective. In the current article, we review recent work using this comparative developmental approach to study non-human primate cognition. We argue that comparative data on the pace and pattern of cognitive development across species can address major theoretical questions in both psychology and biology. In particular, such integrative research will allow stronger biological inferences about the function of developmental change, and will be critical in addressing how humans come to acquire species-unique cognitive abilities.

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Imitation in neonatal chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Cited by 168 publications

References 44 publications

From monkey mirror neurons to primate behaviours: possible ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ pathways

From monkey mirror neurons to primate behaviours: possible ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ pathways

Neuropsychological perspectives on the mechanisms of imitation

Comparative Developmental Psychology: How is Human Cognitive Development Unique?

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