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  4. Me, Myself, and I: Neural Activity for Self versus Other across Development
 
research article

Me, Myself, and I: Neural Activity for Self versus Other across Development

Zanchi, Paola
•
Ledoux, Jean-Baptiste
•
Fornari, Eleonora
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December 1, 2023
Children-Basel

Although adults and children differ in self-vs.-other perception, a developmental perspective on this discriminative ability at the brain level is missing. This study examined neural activation for self-vs.-other in a sample of 39 participants spanning four different age groups, from 4-year-olds to adults. Self-related stimuli elicited higher neural activity within two brain regions related to self-referential thinking, empathy, and social cognition processes. Second, stimuli related to 'others' (i.e., unknown peer) elicited activation within nine additional brain regions. These regions are associated with multisensory processing, somatosensory skills, language, complex visual stimuli, self-awareness, empathy, theory of mind, and social recognition. Overall, activation maps were gradually increasing with age. However, patterns of activity were non-linear within the medial cingulate cortex for 'self' stimuli and within the left middle temporal gyrus for 'other' stimuli in 7-10-year-old participants. In both cases, there were no self-vs.-other differences. It suggests a critical period where the perception of self and others are similarly processed. Furthermore, 11-19-year-old participants showed no differences between others and self within the left inferior orbital gyrus, suggesting less distinction between self and others in social learning. Understanding the neural bases of self-vs.-other discrimination during development can offer valuable insights into how social contexts can influence learning processes during development, such as when to introduce peer-to-peer teaching or group learning.

  • Details
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Type
research article
DOI
10.3390/children10121914
Web of Science ID

WOS:001130858300001

Author(s)
Zanchi, Paola
Ledoux, Jean-Baptiste
Fornari, Eleonora
Denervaud, Solange  
Date Issued

2023-12-01

Publisher

MDPI

Published in
Children-Basel
Volume

10

Issue

12

Article Number

1914

Subjects

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

•

Self-Vs.-Other Perception

•

Social Cognition

•

Development

•

Neural Activity

•

Social Processing

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
CIBM-MRI  
FunderGrant Number

Societe Academique Vaudoise

Prepared Adult Initiative

CHUV-UNIL

Available on Infoscience
February 20, 2024
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/204834
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