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The emergence of the social brain network: Evidence from typical and atypical development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2005

MARK H. JOHNSON ,
RICHARD GRIFFIN ,
GERGELY CSIBRA ,
HANIFE HALIT ,
TERESA FARRONI ,
MICHELLE DE HAAN ,
LESLIE A. TUCKER ,
SIMON BARON–COHEN  and
JOHN RICHARDS
MARK H. JOHNSON
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London
RICHARD GRIFFIN
Affiliation:
Cambridge University
GERGELY CSIBRA
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London
HANIFE HALIT
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London
TERESA FARRONI
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London
MICHELLE DE HAAN
Affiliation:
University College London
LESLIE A. TUCKER
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London
SIMON BARON–COHEN
Affiliation:
Cambridge University
JOHN RICHARDS
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
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Abstract

Several research groups have identified a network of regions of the adult cortex that are activated during social perception and cognition tasks. In this paper we focus on the development of components of this social brain network during early childhood and test aspects of a particular viewpoint on human functional brain development: “interactive specialization.” Specifically, we apply new data analysis techniques to a previously published data set of event-related potential (ERP) studies involving 3-, 4-, and 12-month-old infants viewing faces of different orientation and direction of eye gaze. Using source separation and localization methods, several likely generators of scalp recorded ERP are identified, and we describe how they are modulated by stimulus characteristics. We then review the results of a series of experiments concerned with perceiving and acting on eye gaze, before reporting on a new experiment involving young children with autism. Finally, we discuss predictions based on the atypical emergence of the social brain network.This work was funded by UK Medical Research Council Programme Grants (G9901005 and G9715587) to M.H.J. and S.B.C. T.F. was supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship (073985/Z/03/Z).

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , September 2005 , pp. 599 - 619
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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References

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