Manual Action in Infant Chimpanzees: A Preliminary Study

1996 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 611-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoji Itakura
Keyword(s):  
Index Finger ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Finger Extension ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Infant Chimpanzees

In human infants, index finger extension is shown frequently even from 3 months old, and it is considered that such pointing develops into deictic and communicative pointing; however, there are many reports that chimpanzees do not point with the index finger. In the present study the manual actions of two infant chimpanzees were observed when the experimenter was trying to make eye contact with them. The result shows that pointing was shown very rarely by these infant chimpanzees even morphologically.

Dynamic comparison of the development of combinatory manipulations between chimpanzee and human infants

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-66
Author(s):  
Hideko Takeshita
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Infant Chimpanzees

I present my observations of combinatory manipulations by three infant chimpanzees in a series of test tasks. Common characteristics of motor patterns were observed across the tasks between both infant chimpanzees and 1-year-old infants. Based on the results, I point out that comparative approach can illuminate Thelen et al.'s arguments.

From touching to communicating

Gesture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-267
Author(s):  
Viktoria A. Kettner ◽  
Jeremy I. M. Carpendale
Keyword(s):  
Index Finger ◽  
First Year ◽  
Diary Study ◽  
Developmental Pathway ◽  
Finger Extension ◽  
Pointing Gestures ◽  
Finger Touch ◽  
Parental Responses ◽  
Answering Questions ◽  
Finger Use

Abstract Infants can extend their index fingers soon after birth, yet pointing gestures do not emerge until about 10 to 12 months. In the present study, we draw on the process-relational view, according to which pointing develops as infants learn how others respond to their initially non-communicative index finger use. We report on a longitudinal maternal diary study of 15 infants and describe four types of index finger use in the first year. Analysis of the observations suggests one possible developmental pathway: index finger extension becomes linked to infants’ attention around 7 to 9 months of age with the emergence of fingertip exploration and index finger extension towards out-of-reach objects infants wish to explore. Through parental responses infants begin to use index finger touch to refer in some situations, including asking and answering questions and to request, suggesting that some functions of pointing might originate in early index finger use.

Differentiated Responses to Different Human Conditions by Chimpanzees

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 1288-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoji Itakura
Keyword(s):  
Index Finger ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Empathic Behavior

Chimpanzees' responses to human conditions were investigated. In the experimental condition, the experimenter pretended to injure the index finger, and in the control condition, the experimenter smiled and waved her hand to the chimpanzees. Although looking behavior was observed in both conditions, there was a difference in these types of behavior. Subjects seemed to concentrate their gaze on the experimenter's behavior in the experimental condition. The finding suggests the possibility that such different behaviors may be a basis for empathic behavior similar to that of human infants

scholarly journals A prosocial character of head-gaze aversion in common marmosets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Spadacenta ◽  
Peter W Dicke ◽  
Peter Thier
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Striking Similarity ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Common Marmosets ◽  
Gaze Aversion ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Direct Gaze ◽  
Video Footage ◽  
The Gaze

Gaze aversion is a behavior adopted by several mammalian and non-mammalian species in response to eye contact and usually interpreted as reaction to perceived threat. Unlike many other primates, common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are thought to have high tolerance for direct gaze, barely exhibiting gaze avoidance towards conspecifics and humans. Here we show that this does not hold for marmosets interacting with a familiar experimenter who suddenly establishes eye contact in a playful interaction (peek-a-boo game). In video footage synchronously recorded from the two agents, we found that our monkeys consistently alternated between eye contact and head-gaze aversion. The striking similarity with the gaze aversion dynamics exhibited by human infants interacting with their caregivers suggests a shared behavioral strategy to disengage temporarily from overwhelming social stimulation, in order to prepare for a new round of rewarding, affiliative face-to-face interaction. The potential of our finding for a marmoset model of autism is discussed.

Foetal testosterone and eye contact in 12-month-old human infants

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Lutchmaya ◽  
Simon Baron-Cohen ◽  
Peter Raggatt
Keyword(s):  
Eye Contact ◽  
Human Infants

Transfer of supinator motor branches to the posterior interosseous nerve in C7–T1 brachial plexus palsy

2010 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayme Augusto Bertelli ◽  
Marcos Flavio Ghizoni
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Index Finger ◽  
Motor Nerve ◽  
Anatomical Study ◽  
Nerve Transfer ◽  
Posterior Interosseous Nerve ◽  
Lateral Aspect ◽  
Finger Extension ◽  
Finger Flexion ◽  
Finger Motion

Object In C7–T1 palsies of the brachial plexus, shoulder and elbow function are preserved, but finger motion is absent. Finger flexion has been reconstructed by tendon or nerve transfers. Finger extension has been restored ineffectively by attaching the extensor tendons to the distal aspect of the dorsal radius (termed tenodesis) or by tendon transfers. In these palsies, supinator muscle function is preserved, because innervation stems from the C-6 root. The feasibility of transferring supinator branches to the posterior interosseous nerve has been documented in a previous anatomical study. In this paper, the authors report the clinical results of supinator motor nerve transfer to the posterior interosseous nerve in 4 patients with a C7–T1 root lesion. Methods Four adult patients with C7–T1 root lesions underwent surgery between 5 and 7 months postinjury. The patients had preserved motion of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, but they had complete palsy of finger motion. They underwent finger flexion reconstruction via transfer of the brachialis muscle, and finger and thumb extension were restored by transferring the supinator motor branches to the posterior interosseous nerve. This nerve transfer was performed through an incision over the proximal third of the radius. Dissection was carried out between the extensor carpi radialis brevis and the extensor digitorum communis. The patients were followed up as per regular protocol and underwent a final evaluation 12 months after surgery. To document the extent of recovery, the authors assessed the degree of active metacarpophalangeal joint extension of the long fingers. The thumb span was evaluated by measuring the distance between the thumb pulp and the lateral aspect of the index finger. Results Surgery to transfer the supinator motor branches to the posterior interosseous nerve was straightforward. Twelve months after surgery, all patients were capable of opening their hand and could fully extend their metacarpophalangeal joints. The distance of thumb abduction improved from 0 to 5 cm from the lateral aspect of the index finger. Conclusions Transferring supinator motor nerves directly to the posterior interosseous nerve is effective in at least partially restoring thumb and finger extension in patients with lower-type injuries of the brachial plexus.

The relation between index-finger extension and the acoustic quality of cooing in three-month-old infants

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuo Masataka
Keyword(s):  
Index Finger ◽  
Gaze Direction ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Finger Extension ◽  
Acoustic Quality ◽  
Turn Taking ◽  
Taking Condition ◽  
Pointing Gesture

ABSTRACTFourteen full-term, healthy, three-month-old infants were observed during a total of 15 minutes spontaneous face-to-face interaction with their mothers. Facial and manual actions, gaze direction and vocalizations were coded. The infants' cooing vocalizations were categorized into syllabic and vocalic sounds. Index-finger extension occurred frequently in sequence with syllabic sounds, which are speech-like vocalizations, but rarely occurred in sequence with vocalic sounds. No other categories of nonvocal behaviours showed such a relationship. In a subsequent experiment, the infants experienced either conversational turn-taking or random responsiveness from their mothers. In the turn-taking condition, the infants produced a higher ratio of syllabic to vocalic sounds, and a higher frequency of index-finger extension. These results suggest a strong connection between speech and the pointing gesture long before the infant can actually talk.

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