PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Newborn babies have built-in body awareness ability

2013-11-21
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Newborn babies have built-in body awareness ability VIDEO: The ability to differentiate your own body from others is a fundamental skill, critical for humans' ability to interact with their environments and the people in them. Now, researchers reporting...
Click here for more information.

The ability to differentiate your own body from others is a fundamental skill, critical for humans' ability to interact with their environments and the people in them. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, on November 21 provide some of the first evidence that newborn babies enter the world with the essential mechanisms for this kind of body awareness already in place.

In addition to this insight into normal human development, the researchers stress the importance of the new findings for understanding atypical development, too.

"The identification of these mechanisms at birth in the current study sheds light on the typical trajectory of body awareness across development," says Maria Laura Filippetti of Birkbeck College, University of London. "Our findings may also be relevant to the investigation of early predictors of developmental disorders in infants, such as autism, where an impairment in the discrimination of self/other is believed to be present."

Earlier studies in adults showed that the integration of information from different senses is key to body awareness. If an individual watches another person's face being touched as his or her own face is touched in the same way, the perception of self actually shifts to partially incorporate that other face. In the new study, Filippetti and colleagues wanted to go back to the very beginning in investigating that phenomenon by studying newborn babies.

Just as in those earlier adult studies, the researchers presented 20 healthy newborns with a video of another baby's face being touched on the cheek with a soft paintbrush while the newborns' corresponding cheeks were stroked either simultaneously or with a time delay. Of course, the babies couldn't explain what they experienced, but they did show greater interest in looking at the other baby's face when it was stroked synchronously with their own. The babies were less interested when the face was presented to them upside down, making it less relatable to themselves.

The researchers interpret their observations as evidence that babies have the essential ingredients for body perception. When what babies see in relation to their own bodies matches what they feel, they notice just as we adults do. In other words, Filippetti says, newborns are "competent creatures," capable of differentiating themselves from others and of forming a coherent perception of their own bodies.

The findings may help in understanding disorders characterized by a lack of self-awareness, and the researchers call for additional research, particularly in the context of autism.

"For years, research on autism has focused on the impairment in social interactions," Filippetti says. "We believe it will be important for further studies to specifically investigate the perception of the self in this population, as well as the relationship of self to other."

### Current Biology, Filippetti et al.: "Body perception in newborns."


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists identify gene that regulates body weight in humans and mice

2013-11-21
Scientists identify gene that regulates body weight in humans and mice Research has pointed to the importance of genetic factors in human obesity and has shown that heritability plays a role in 40% to 90% of cases. Now investigators reporting online November 21 in The American ...

Scientists find the invisibility cloak that shields HIV-1 from the immune system

2013-11-21
Scientists find the invisibility cloak that shields HIV-1 from the immune system Of the two major types of HIV, only one, HIV-1, typically causes AIDS in infected people who don't receive treatment. A study published by Cell Press November 21st in the journal Immunity reveals ...

Stanford scientists think mysterious virus could be a signal of a weak immune system

2013-11-21
Stanford scientists think mysterious virus could be a signal of a weak immune system Genomic analysis of transplant patients finds an opportunistic microorganism whose elevated presence could be used an indicator in treatment STANFORD, Calif. — More than ...

Different cellular mechanisms behind regenerated body parts

2013-11-21
Different cellular mechanisms behind regenerated body parts Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that two separate species of salamander differ in the way their muscles grow back in lost body parts. Their findings on the species-specific ...

HIV and parenting needs to be discussed, new study finds

2013-11-21
HIV and parenting needs to be discussed, new study finds A team from Royal Holloway University and St. Mary's Hospital, London, interviewed young people aged 18-23 who had transmitted HIV from their mothers – known as 'perinatally acquired HIV' (PAH). Previously ...

Genetic defect keeps verbal cues from hitting the mark

2013-11-21
Genetic defect keeps verbal cues from hitting the mark Gene found in human speech problems affects singing, not learning in songbirds DURHAM, N.C. -- A genetic defect that profoundly affects speech in humans also disrupts the ability of songbirds to sing effective courtship ...

Study pinpoints cell type and brain region affected by gene mutations in autism

2013-11-21
Study pinpoints cell type and brain region affected by gene mutations in autism UCSF-led study zeroes in on when and where disrupted genes exert effects A team led by UC San Francisco scientists has identified the disruption of a single type of ...

Research shows that anti-fungal medicine may increase vulnerability to influenza and other viruses

2013-11-21
Research shows that anti-fungal medicine may increase vulnerability to influenza and other viruses First line anti-viral protein rendered ineffective by Amphotericin B WORCESTER, MA – Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical ...

UCLA first to map autism-risk genes by function

2013-11-21
UCLA first to map autism-risk genes by function Scientists unravel how mutations disrupt fetal brain's development Pity the poor autism researcher. Recent studies have linked hundreds of gene mutations scattered throughout ...

New link between obesity and diabetes found

2013-11-21
New link between obesity and diabetes found Targeting a single enzyme that raises both sugar and insulin levels in the obese could prevent and treat diabetes NEW YORK, NY (November 21, 2013) –A single overactive enzyme worsens the two core defects ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New research boosts future whooping cough vaccines

Mechanistic understanding could enable better fast-charging batteries

No bones about it: new details about skeletal cell aging revealed

UNM scientists discover how nanoparticles of toxic metal used in MRI scans infiltrate human tissue

UMaine research examines best methods for growing Atlantic sea scallops

Medical cannabis could speed recovery, especially at community recovery homes

Study assesses U.S. image amid weakening of democracy

Two scientific researchers to receive 2025 Ralph L. Sacco Scholarships for Brain Health

Researchers improve chemical reaction that underpins products from foods to fuels

Texas Tech to develop semiconductor power devices through $6 million grant

Novel genomic screening tool enables precision reverse-engineering of genetic programming in cells

Hot Schrödinger cat states created

How cells repair their power plants

Oxygen is running low in inland waters—and humans are to blame

ACP’s Best Practice Advice addresses use of cannabis, cannabinoids for chronic noncancer pain

Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity

How a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus

Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions

Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections

Many older adults send their doctors portal messages, but who pays?

Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits

Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers

Pancreatic cells ‘remember’ epigenetic precancerous marks without genetic sequence mutations

Rare combination of ovarian tumors found in one patient

AI-driven clinical recommendations may aid physician decision making to improve quality of care

Artificial intelligence has potential to aid physician decisions during virtual urgent care

ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine present breaking scientific news at ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2025

New study reveals polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics

Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people

Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance

[Press-News.org] Newborn babies have built-in body awareness ability