Embodied Simulation of Others Being Touched in 1-Year-Old Infants

ABSTRACT

The current study was designed to examine whether 1-year-old infants relate the perception of others’ being touched to their own sensorimotor system, and whether they distinguish between animate and inanimate targets. During electroencephalography (EEG) assessment, infants watched video sequences in which either a human or a nonhuman target was touched/not touched by another object. Comparisons of sensorimotor alpha activation (7–9 Hz) on centro-parietal electrodes revealed differential cortical reactivity to the touch versus nontouch situations for the human versus the nonhuman target. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for the claim that infants might relate others’ sensory experiences to their own sensorimotor system.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ruth Hofrichter, Sara Murphy, and the entire developmental psychology EEG lab for their help with this study, as well as Nike R. H. Tsalas for her helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Furthermore, we thank all infants and their parents for their participation in this project.