Child and Animal Learning Development

Gaze patterns and brain activations in humans and marmosets in the Frith-Happe; theory-of-mind animation task

This study compares gaze patterns and brain activations in humans and marmosets during ToM and Random Frith-Happe animations, finding similar processing differences.

Objective assessment of visual attention in toddlerhood

This study assesses visual attention in toddlers using eye-tracking data from 350 participants and introduces a shared data resource for research.

Mentalizing in an economic games context is associated with enhanced activation and connectivity in left temporoparietal junction

The paper investigates neural activity during economic games and false-belief tasks, finding overlapping activation and connectivity in social cognition regions.

No evidence of theory of mind reasoning in the human language network

The paper examines the relationship between language processing and theory of mind (ToM) using fMRI, finding that language network responses to ToM tasks are largely due to linguistic confounds rather than neural overlap.

The Role of the Ventrolateral Anterior Temporal Lobes in Social Cognition

This study uses fMRI to show that ventrolateral anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is involved in social cognition through semantic processing, not as a domain-specific social module.

Peer presence elicits task-independent changes within and beyond the mentalizing network across children and adults

The paper investigates how peer presence affects brain activity during different tasks in children and adults, finding task-independent neural changes in social cognition networks.

Late maturation of semantic control promotes conceptual development

The paper shows that delayed maturation of semantic control in the prefrontal cortex supports conceptual learning by allowing flexible use of conceptual knowledge during development.

Heterogeneity of social cognition in temporo-parietal junction: Overlapping yet distinct representation between visual perspective-taking and theory of mind

This study compares neural activation patterns in the temporo-parietal junction during visual perspective taking and theory of mind tasks, finding overlapping yet distinct representations.

Differential tracking of linguistic vs. mental state content in naturalistic stimuli by language and Theory of Mind (ToM) brain networks

The paper investigates how language and Theory of Mind networks track linguistic and mental state content in naturalistic stimuli using fMRI.

Cognitive and affective Theory of Mind double dissociation after parietal and temporal lobe tumors

This study examines ToM deficits in brain tumor patients, finding a double dissociation between parietal and temporal lobe damage affecting cognitive and affective ToM components.

Social prediction modulates activity of macaque superior temporal cortex

The paper identifies a brain region in Rhesus macaques that shows computational properties similar to the human temporo-parietal junction, modulated by social interaction predictability.

Right Temporoparietal Junction Encodes Mental Experience of Others More Than Evaluating False Versus True Belief

The paper investigates how the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) encodes mental states during theory of mind tasks, finding it reflects the cartoon character's perspective rather than the truth of beliefs.

Understanding Others Requires Right Temporoparietal and Inferior Frontal Regions

This study shows that right temporoparietal and inferior frontal brain regions are necessary for understanding others' knowledge and beliefs.

Temporo-Parietal Cortex Involved in Modeling One's Own and Others' Attention

This study uses fMRI to show the human brain encodes others' attention as either exogenous or endogenous, distinguishing self from other agents.

Newborns' sensitivity to speed changes as a building block for animacy perception

This study investigates whether newborns show attentional bias toward objects with speed changes, suggesting a foundational mechanism for animacy perception.

Developmental asymmetries in learning to adjust to cooperative and uncooperative environments

The paper shows that cooperative social learning improves with age, while uncooperative learning remains stable, highlighting early adolescence as a critical period for social behavior development.

The Cognitive Mechanisms That Drive Social Belief Updates During Adolescence

This study identifies three cognitive mechanisms—prior beliefs, prior uncertainty, and uncertainty tolerance—that drive age-related changes in belief updates about peer trustworthiness during adolescence.

Comparing self- and hetero-metacognition in the absence of verbal communication

This study compares self- and hetero-metacognition in the absence of verbal communication, finding that participants accurately infer others' confidence levels as they do their own.

Cortical temporal hierarchy is immature in middle childhood

This study examines cortical temporal hierarchy development in middle childhood, finding reduced long timescale processing in key brain regions and its link to social-cognitive abilities.

Theory of Minds: Managing mental state inferences in working memory is associated with the dorsomedial subsystem of the default network and social integration

The paper investigates how the brain manages multiple mental states in working memory and links this ability to social integration through neural activity in the dorsomedial default network.

Pragmatic Language Processing in the Adolescent Brain

This study uses fMRI to examine brain networks involved in pragmatic language processing in adolescents, finding stronger activation for indirect affective replies compared to other types.

I know that I don’t know: Structural and functional connectivity underlying meta-ignorance in pre-schoolers

The paper identifies brain regions and connectivity patterns associated with the development of meta-ignorance in preschoolers.

Young children combine sensory cues with learned information in a statistically efficient manner: But task complexity matters

This study shows 6-7-year-olds can combine sensory cues with learned regularities statistically efficiently, but task complexity affects their performance more than adults.

Young Children Integrate Current Observations, Priors and Agent Information to Build Predictive Models of Others’ Actions

This study shows 24-month-olds integrate observations, priors, and agent information to build predictive models of others' actions, as measured by pupillary responses and explained by a computational model.

Defining the neural correlates of spontaneous theory of mind (ToM): An fMRI mega-analytic investigation

This study investigates the neural correlates of spontaneous theory of mind using fMRI mega-analysis, finding activation in posterior parietal cortex and visuospatial regions, but not medial prefrontal cortex.

Towards a neuroscientific understanding of play: A neuropsychological coding framework for analysing infant-adult play patterns

The paper introduces a neuropsychological coding framework to analyze adult-infant play patterns across sensorimotor, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions, demonstrating its ability to distinguish playful from non-playful interactions.