TY - JOUR
T1 - Fronto-temporoparietal connectivity and self-awareness in 18-month-olds
T2 - A resting state fNIRS study
AU - Bulgarelli, Chiara
AU - Blasi, Anna
AU - de Klerk, Carina C.J.M.
AU - Richards, John E.
AU - Hamilton, Antonia
AU - Southgate, Victoria Helen
PY - 2019/8/1
Y1 - 2019/8/1
N2 - How and when a concept of the ‘self’ emerges has been the topic of much interest in developmental psychology. Self-awareness has been proposed to emerge at around 18 months, when toddlers start to show evidence of physical self-recognition. However, to what extent physical self-recognition is a valid indicator of being able to think about oneself, is debated. Research in adult cognitive neuroscience has suggested that a common network of brain regions called Default Mode Network (DMN), including the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is recruited when we are reflecting on the self. We hypothesized that if mirror self-recognition involves self-awareness, toddlers who exhibit mirror self-recognition might show increased functional connectivity between frontal and temporoparietal regions of the brain, relative to those toddlers who do not yet show mirror self-recognition. Using fNIRS, we collected resting-state data from 18 Recognizers and 22 Non-Recognizers at 18 months of age. We found significantly stronger fronto-temporoparietal connectivity in Recognizers compared to Non-Recognizers, a finding which might support the hypothesized relationship between mirror-self recognition and self-awareness in infancy.
AB - How and when a concept of the ‘self’ emerges has been the topic of much interest in developmental psychology. Self-awareness has been proposed to emerge at around 18 months, when toddlers start to show evidence of physical self-recognition. However, to what extent physical self-recognition is a valid indicator of being able to think about oneself, is debated. Research in adult cognitive neuroscience has suggested that a common network of brain regions called Default Mode Network (DMN), including the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is recruited when we are reflecting on the self. We hypothesized that if mirror self-recognition involves self-awareness, toddlers who exhibit mirror self-recognition might show increased functional connectivity between frontal and temporoparietal regions of the brain, relative to those toddlers who do not yet show mirror self-recognition. Using fNIRS, we collected resting-state data from 18 Recognizers and 22 Non-Recognizers at 18 months of age. We found significantly stronger fronto-temporoparietal connectivity in Recognizers compared to Non-Recognizers, a finding which might support the hypothesized relationship between mirror-self recognition and self-awareness in infancy.
KW - Default mode network
KW - fNIRS
KW - Functional connectivity
KW - Resting-state
KW - Self-awareness
KW - Toddler development
U2 - 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100676
DO - 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100676
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 31299480
AN - SCOPUS:85068516236
SN - 1878-9293
VL - 38
JO - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
M1 - 100676
ER -