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The Human Face Becomes Mapped as a Sensorimotor Reaching Space During the First Year
Author(s) -
Chinn Lisa K.,
Noonan Claire F.,
Lockman Jeffrey J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13405
Subject(s) - psychology , face (sociological concept) , space (punctuation) , representation (politics) , action (physics) , tactile stimuli , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , personal space , communication , social psychology , computer science , sensory system , operating system , social science , physics , quantum mechanics , sociology , politics , political science , law
Although recent behavioral and neural research indicates that infants represent the body’s structure, how they engage self‐representations for action is little understood. This study addressed how the human face becomes a reaching space. Infants ( N = 24; 2–11 months) were tested longitudinally approximately every 3 weeks on their ability to reach to a vibrating target placed at different locations on the face. Successful reaches required coordinating skin‐ and body‐based codes for location, a problem known as tactile remapping. Findings suggest that a functional representation of the face is initially fragmented. Infants localized targets in the perioral region before other areas (ears/temples). Additionally, infants predominantly reached ipsilaterally to targets. Collectively, the findings illuminate how the face becomes an integrated sensorimotor space for self‐reaching.