Synchrony of EEG and Action In Real-Time Toddler-Parent Social Interaction

研究人员、家长和老师都认为婴儿和儿童从他们的社会经验中学习。然而，人们对婴儿和儿童的社会学习是如何发生的知之甚少。例如，即使在一个简单的轮流游戏中，幼儿和成年人是如何相互适应的？它们如何进入一个“节奏”，或者如何影响彼此的下一个回合？幼儿和父母什么时候以及为什么会表现出对游戏和彼此的享受？我们几乎不知道幼儿的大脑是如何产生这些社会行为和情感的。这项拟议中的研究将测量幼儿和父母在玩轮流游戏时每时每刻的行为变化，同时记录他们的脑电图（EEG）：头皮上的电变化，部分是由控制行动和交流的大脑新皮层引起的。两岁的幼儿和父母在触摸屏桌上玩轮流游戏。他们会产生许多没有剧本的社交行为，有时还会因为他们的合作行为而获得奖励。幼儿和父母的手和头的位置被动作捕捉，这样他们的脑电图就可以与他们的动作精确同步。最先进的分析将从幼儿和父母的脑电图中获得最有意义的信息，与他们自己的行为和他们对对方行为的观察同步。高级统计数据将用于分析整个游戏中的动作模式和脑电图事件。这一范式将用于研究两个主要主题：第一，幼儿的大脑如何不仅记录自己的行为，还记录他人的行为？幼儿处理人类行为的大脑网络实际上是未知的，也没有在持续的社会互动中进行研究。研究结果将记录幼儿感知父母行为时的大脑反应。这可能有助于研究人员了解父母如何在面对面的活动中促进孩子的参与和学习。这也可能说明为什么有些幼儿比其他幼儿更有社交反应。其次，在面对面的互动中获得的奖励对儿童的学习至关重要，但他们的大脑在社交互动中对奖励的反应几乎一无所知。结果将记录幼儿和成人的行为和大脑对奖励的反应，特别是对合作的奖励。这将有助于研究人员了解幼儿如何在社会环境中发展社交技能。当孩子们开始上学时，这些技能至关重要。总而言之，一种测量轮流幼儿和父母的时间锁定大脑信号和行为的新范式将为社会联系和合作技能的发展提供启示。该项目还将为本科生和研究生提供培训，并为一所特许高中的非传统学生提供实习生。参与的实验室还将为来自服务不足社区的高中高年级学生举办实地考察活动，以了解神经科学。

Researchers, parents, and teachers all assume that infants and children learn from their social experiences. However, little is known about how social learning happens in infants and children. For example, even in a simple turn-taking game, how do toddlers and adults adapt to one another? How do they fall into a "rhythm," or affect one another's next turn? When and why do toddlers and parents show enjoyment of the game and of one another? We know almost nothing about how toddler's brains produce these social actions and emotions. The proposed research will measure moment-by-moment changes in the behaviors of toddlers and parents playing a turn-taking game, while also recording their electroencephalograms (EEG): changes in electricity on the scalp, partly caused by the brain's neocortex, which controls actions and communication. Two-year-old toddlers and parents play turn-taking games on a touch-screen table. They produce many unscripted social actions, and are sometimes rewarded for their cooperative actions. The positions of toddlers' and parents' hands and heads are motion-captured, so that their EEG can be precisely synchronized with their actions. State-of-the art analyses will derive the most meaningful information from the EEG of both toddler and parent, synchronized with their own actions and with their observation of the other's actions. Advanced statistics will be used to analyze patterns of actions and EEG events throughout the game.This paradigm will be used to investigate two major topics: First, how do toddlers' brains register not only their own actions but also other people's actions? Toddlers' brain networks for processing people's actions are virtually unknown, and have not been studied during ongoing social interactions. The results will document toddlers' brain responses to perceiving a parent's actions. This might help researchers understand how parents promote children's engagement and learning during face-to-face activities. It might also indicate why some toddlers are more socially responsive than others. Second, the rewards obtained during face-to-face interactions are crucial for children's learning, but almost nothing is known about how their brains respond to rewards during social interactions. The results will document toddlers' and adults' behavior and brain responses to rewards, especially rewards for cooperation. This will help researchers understand how toddlers develop social skills for learning in social contexts. These skills are critical when children begin school. In sum, a new paradigm for measuring time-locked brain signals and actions of turn-taking toddlers and parents will shed light on the development of skills for social connection and cooperation. The project will also provide training for undergraduate and graduate students, and interns from a charter high school for non-traditional students. The participating laboratories will also host field trips for high school seniors from underserved neighborhoods to learn about neuroscience.