Perception-action coupling in infancy.

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The ability to recognize and understand the actions and intentions of others is a critical prerequisite for the development of imitation, motor learning and social cognition. How do infants understand and represent the actions of others? What brain systems are involved in processing this information and how do these systems develop? These are fundamental questions in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Over the past few years there is increasing evidence that the brain networks activated during the performance of a movement are also activated during the observation of the same movement. At present, our understanding of the dynamics of these networks and the role of learning and experience on the development of these networks is rudimentary. The long term goal of my research program is to determine how the action-perception network develops during the first year of life and to evaluate whether this development is the result of changes in the structural and functional connectivity in the brain during the same period. I am proposing to map both the structural and functional connectivity of the action-perception network at multiple time points over the course of first year when infants are rapidly acquiring and refining their motor skills, and to quantify the changes from one time period to the next to understand the organization of the network. I will also do the same for the action-execution network to understanding how this network influences the action-perception system. Until recently, this would have been a very difficult proposition due to limitations in brain imaging technology. However, advances in imaging technologies, such as the advent of pediatric MRI, now make this possible. Over the next five years, my specific short-term objectives are: • Map the functional connections between the brain regions associated with the action-perception and action-execution networks during the first year of life, quantify the changes with respect to observed motor development during the same period, and investigate whether the two networks interact with each other. • Map the development of brain structure during the first year of life, and focusing specifically on the sensorimotor white matter tracks, quantify the changes in the underlying structural connectivity that supports the action-perception and the action-execution networks during the first year. • Determine the relationship between structural connectivity and functional associations of the action-perception and the action-execution networks, and investigate how the relationship between structure and function evolves during the first year of life. The results from this study will fill a critical gap in the field by providing new insights and directions into the development of these processes. Specifically, understanding and describing the relationship between motor experience and brain structure and function will provide new and significant insights into the temporal and spatial evolution of brain networks and will provide a template for understanding developmental disorders. In addition, my collaborations with researchers in the fields of developmental neuroscience and engineering will lead to novel approaches allowing characterization of underlying network dynamics and connectivity involved in perception and action and provide a unique opportunity for trainees.