scholarly journals Social touch in mother–infant interaction affects infants’ subsequent social engagement and object exploration

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukari Tanaka ◽  
Yasuhiro Kanakogi ◽  
Masako Myowa
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Contact Condition ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Object Exploration ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Preferential Looking ◽  
Social Images ◽  
The Stranger

AbstractInfants’ social touch with caregivers has been considered a means of regulating infant physiological and emotional state. In non-human mammals, such regulatory function also facilitates infant exploration and social behavior. However, the types of social touch in human mother–infant interaction that contribute to specific behavioral responses toward people and objects remain unclear. Using a pre- and post-task design, this study investigated the effects of social touch during mother–infant interactions on infants’ subsequent preferential looking at social stimuli, social engagement with strangers, and object exploration. Between tasks, mothers and infants spent the time playing in one of two conditions, More Physical Contact or Less Physical Contact. We found that infants in the More Physical Contact Condition showed a greater decrease in evasive behavior with the stranger and enhanced object exploration than those in the Less Physical Contact Condition. Conversely, social touch did not affect infants’ preferential looking at static social images. Among the types of social touch, the frequency of affectionate touch reduced evasive behavior to the stranger and facilitated object exploration. These results suggest that social touch, especially affectionate touch, during mother–infant interactions, assist in the modulation of infants’ evasive behaviors toward people and object exploration.

scholarly journals Brief Report: Preferred Processing of Social Stimuli in Autism: A Perception Task

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Meermeier ◽  
M. Jording ◽  
Y. Alayoubi ◽  
David H. V. Vogel ◽  
K. Vogeley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Exploratory Analysis ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Perception Task ◽  
Social Images

AbstractIn this study we investigate whether persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) perceive social images differently than control participants (CON) in a graded perception task in which stimuli emerged from noise before dissipating into noise again. We presented either social stimuli (humans) or non-social stimuli (objects or animals). ASD were slower to recognize images during their emergence, but as fast as CON when indicating the dissipation of the image irrespective of its content. Social stimuli were recognized faster and remained discernable longer in both diagnostic groups. Thus, ASD participants show a largely intact preference for the processing of social images. An exploratory analysis of response subsets reveals subtle differences between groups that could be investigated in future studies.

scholarly journals Convolutional neural network model to predict causal risk factors that share complex regulatory features

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (22) ◽  
pp. e146-e146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taeyeop Lee ◽  
Min Kyung Sung ◽  
Seulkee Lee ◽  
Woojin Yang ◽  
Jaeho Oh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Convolutional Neural Network ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Functional Interpretation ◽  
Causal Variants ◽  
Functional Features

Abstract Major progress in disease genetics has been made through genome-wide association studies (GWASs). One of the key tasks for post-GWAS analyses is to identify causal noncoding variants with regulatory function. Here, on the basis of >2000 functional features, we developed a convolutional neural network framework for combinatorial, nonlinear modeling of complex patterns shared by risk variants scattered among multiple associated loci. When applied for major psychiatric disorders and autoimmune diseases, neural and immune features, respectively, exhibited high explanatory power while reflecting the pathophysiology of the relevant disease. The predicted causal variants were concentrated in active regulatory regions of relevant cell types and tended to be in physical contact with transcription factors while residing in evolutionarily conserved regions and resulting in expression changes of genes related to the given disease. We demonstrate some examples of novel candidate causal variants and associated genes. Our method is expected to contribute to the identification and functional interpretation of potential causal noncoding variants in post-GWAS analyses.

scholarly journals Convolutional neural network model to predict causal risk factors that share complex regulatory features

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taeyeop Lee ◽  
Min Kyung Sung ◽  
Seulkee Lee ◽  
Woojin Yang ◽  
Jaeho Oh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Convolutional Neural Network ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Functional Interpretation ◽  
Causal Variants ◽  
Functional Features

ABSTRACTMajor progress in disease genetics has been made through genome-wide association studies (GWASs). One of the key tasks for post-GWAS analyses is to identify causal noncoding variants with regulatory function. Here, on the basis of > 2,000 functional features, we developed a convolutional neural network framework for combinatorial, nonlinear modeling of complex patterns shared by risk variants scattered among multiple associated loci. When applied for major psychiatric disorders and autoimmune diseases, neural and immune features, respectively, exhibited high explanatory power while reflecting the pathophysiology of the relevant disease. The predicted causal variants were concentrated in active regulatory regions of relevant cell types and tended to be in physical contact with transcription factors while residing in evolutionarily conserved regions and resulting in expression changes of genes related to the given disease. We demonstrate some examples of novel candidate causal variants and associated genes. Our method is expected to contribute to the identification and functional interpretation of causal noncoding variants in post-GWAS analyses.

scholarly journals Lack of social touch increases anxiety and alters social behaviors in mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Kai Ma ◽  
Pei-Yun Zeng ◽  
Yu-Hsin Chu ◽  
Chih-Lin Lee ◽  
Ching-Chuan Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The importance of social interactions has been reported in different animal species. During the pandemic, although people can communicate through other sensory cues, social touch is mostly prohibited under different levels of social distance policies, which inspired us to explore the necessity of physical contact in mouse social interaction. In this study, we first conducted a long-term observation showing that pair-housed mice in a standard laboratory cage spent nearly half the day in direct physical contact with each other. Furthermore, isolation experiments demonstrated that, even with access to other sensations, prevention of social touch for one month significantly induced anxiety levels, changed social behaviors and increased interleukin-6 cytokine in the hippocampus and the serum of mice. Our study demonstrated the necessity of social touch for the maintenance of mental health in mice. This information could have important implications for human social interactions, especially the social policies during a pandemic crisis.

scholarly journals Keepers as social companions: Tactile communication and social enrichment for captive apes

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3/4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Cerrone
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Konrad Lorenz ◽  
Tactile Communication ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Special Case

The article addresses the topic of great ape–keeper tactile communication. The aim of this paper is to understand whether direct physical contact can be considered a source of enrichment for captive apes and whether it could be used to enhance animal welfare in zoos. We make use of a multispecies perspective provided by umwelt theory in an attempt to determine the role of touch in zoological gardens. By referring to Konrad Lorenz, we describe keeper–animal relationships as a special case of companionship, highlighting the role of keepers in apes’ social behaviour. The paper considers social touch as the primary means used by social animals to create and maintain increasingly complex relationships. Since tactile communication in interspecific contexts has been underestimated previously, our theoretical framework allows for a better understanding of physical contact in zoological gardens without assuming an anthropocentric point of view. Our hypothesis is that physical contact with keepers may provide enriching opportunities for social animals and help strengthen the bond between animals and their keepers. We emphasize that ape–animal interactions in zoos need to involve keeper–animal physical contact as a possible means for enhancing the apes’ welfare.  

scholarly journals Disinhibited social engagement in postinstitutionalized children: Differentiating normal from atypical behavior

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie M. Lawler ◽  
Camelia E. Hostinar ◽  
Shanna B. Mliner ◽  
Megan R. Gunnar
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Postinstitutionalized Children ◽  
No Gold Standard ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThe most commonly reported socially aberrant behavior in postinstitutionalized (PI) children is disinhibited social engagement (DSE; also known as indiscriminate friendliness). There is no gold standard for measurement of this phenomenon nor agreement on how to differentiate it from normative behavior. We adopted a developmental psychopathology approach (Cicchetti, 1984) to study this phenomenon by comparing it to normative social development and by studying its patterns over time in 50 newly adopted PI children (16–36 months at adoption) compared with 41 children adopted early from foster care overseas and 47 nonadopted (NA) controls. Using coded behavioral observations of the child's interaction with an unfamiliar adult, atypical behaviors were differentiated from normative behaviors. Principal components analysis identified two dimensions of social disinhibition. The nonphysical social dimension (e.g., initiations, proximity) showed wide variation in NA children and is therefore considered a typical form of sociability. Displays of physical contact and intimacy were rare in NA children, suggesting that they represent an atypical pattern of behavior. Both adopted groups demonstrated more physical DSE behavior than NA children. There were no group differences on the nonphysical factor, and it increased over time in all groups. Implications for understanding the etiology of DSE and future directions are discussed.

scholarly journals Comparison of dogs and humans in visual scanning of social interaction

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 150341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Törnqvist ◽  
Sanni Somppi ◽  
Aija Koskela ◽  
Christina M. Krause ◽  
Outi Vainio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Social Experiences ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Visual Scanning ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Social Images ◽  
Social Scenes

Previous studies have demonstrated similarities in gazing behaviour of dogs and humans, but comparisons under similar conditions are rare, and little is known about dogs' visual attention to social scenes. Here, we recorded the eye gaze of dogs while they viewed images containing two humans or dogs either interacting socially or facing away: the results were compared with equivalent data measured from humans. Furthermore, we compared the gazing behaviour of two dog and two human populations with different social experiences: family and kennel dogs; dog experts and non-experts. Dogs' gazing behaviour was similar to humans: both species gazed longer at the actors in social interaction than in non-social images. However, humans gazed longer at the actors in dog than human social interaction images, whereas dogs gazed longer at the actors in human than dog social interaction images. Both species also made more saccades between actors in images representing non-conspecifics, which could indicate that processing social interaction of non-conspecifics may be more demanding. Dog experts and non-experts viewed the images very similarly. Kennel dogs viewed images less than family dogs, but otherwise their gazing behaviour did not differ, indicating that the basic processing of social stimuli remains similar regardless of social experiences.

Owners as a secure base for their dogs

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (11) ◽  
pp. 1275-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Mariti ◽  
Eva Ricci ◽  
Marcella Zilocchi ◽  
Angelo Gazzano
Keyword(s):  
Social Play ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Secure Base ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Normal Behaviour ◽  
Strange Situation Test ◽  
The Stranger ◽  
Social Behaviours

A modified version of the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test was used to analyse 40 dog–owner pairs in order to assess whether owners can represent a secure base for their dogs. The Wilcoxon test revealed significant differences between owner and stranger for protest at separation (whining), contact maintenance effect (proximity, attention seeking and physical contact) and secure base effect (exploration, individual play and social play). The results suggest that dogs behave similarly to children towards the mothers and to chimpanzees towards human caretakers in the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test: owners are the preferred recipient of affiliative behaviours and, in their absence, dogs show behaviours indicative of distress. After reunion with the owner, dogs show an increase in social behaviours towards him/her. Dogs did not show fear of the stranger, and it was regarded as a normal behaviour for adult well-socialized dogs. Until now whether owners represented a secure base for their dogs was debated, due to controversial results. This study found that dogs play and explore more when owners were present, suggesting that owners can represent a secure base for their dogs. Therefore, according to Bowlby’s definition, dogs are linked to their owners by an attachment bond.

scholarly journals Individual differences in responsivity to social rewards: Insights from two eye-tracking tasks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhismadev Chakrabarti ◽  
Anthony Haffey ◽  
Loredana Canzano ◽  
Christopher P. Taylor ◽  
Eugene McSorley
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Social Preference ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Global Effect ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Tracking Tasks ◽  
Preferential Looking ◽  
Social Rewards

AbstractHumans generally prefer social over nonsocial stimuli from an early age. Reduced preference for social rewards has been observed in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). This preference has typically been noted in separate tasks that measure orienting toward and engaging with social stimuli. In this experiment, we used two eye-tracking tasks to index both of these aspects of social preference in in 77 typical adults. We used two measures, global effect and preferential looking time. The global effect task measures saccadic deviation toward a social stimulus (related to ‘orienting’), while the preferential looking task records gaze duration bias toward social stimuli (relating to ‘engaging’). Social rewards were found to elicit greater saccadic deviation and greater gaze duration bias, suggesting that they have both greater salience and higher value compared to nonsocial rewards. Trait empathy was positively correlated with the measure of relative value of social rewards, but not with their salience. This study thus elucidates the relationship of empathy with social reward processing.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document