Cover not available
Part of
Emotion in Language: Theory – research – application
Edited by Ulrike M. Lüdtke
[Consciousness & Emotion Book Series 10] 2015
► pp. 49–68

Emotion on board

| CNRS Centre Emotion La Salpétrière Hospital, France
| Paris-8 University, France
Emotion is on board from first. Fetal facial expressions change strikingly fast, thus indicating that they are actively practiced before birth. What for? Are we wired to express our emotions and to resonate to others’? Blank faces or non contingent faces cause disturbance early on life. When mother does not respond contingently to her 2-month-old, the infant mood turns to negative expression. Children with autism, even low-functioning ones, try to reconnect with a still person. Children track preferentially core expressive features, even if those features are generated by a robot. Our EEG studies with adults indicate that emotion is captured regardless of the vehicle (human or robotic stimuli). This suggests that emotional development leads to decipher emotional signals beyond faces.
Keywords: children with autism, EEG studies, emotional development, emotions, fetal facial expressions
Published online: 16 December 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ceb.10.03nad
References (79)
References
Arbib, Michael A. and Fellous, Jean-Marc. 2004. “Emotions from brain to robot.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 8: 554–561. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baron-Cohen, Simon. 1995. Mindblindness. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Batty, Magali and Taylor, Margot J. 2003. “Early processing of the six basic facial emotional expressions.” Cognitive Brain Research 17: 613–620. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bentin, Shlomo, McCarthy, Gregory, Perez, Erik, Puce, Aina and Allison, Truett. 1996. “Electrophysiological studies of face perception in humans.” Cognitive Brain Research 8: 551–565.Google Scholar
Bigelow, Ann E., MacLean, Barbara K. and MacDonald, Donna. 1996. “Infants’ responses to live and replay interactions with self and mother.” Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 42: 596–611.Google Scholar
Boucher, Jerry and Ekman, Paul. 1975. “Facial areas and emotional information.” Journal of Communication 25: 21–29. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carey, Susan and Diamond, Rhea. 1977. “From piecemeal to configurational representation of faces.” Science 195: 312–314. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chammat, Mariam, Nadel, Jacqueline, Foucher, Aurelie and Dubal, Stephanie. 2010. “Reading sadness beyond human faces.” Brain Research 1348: 95–104. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Darwin, Charles. 1872. The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals. London: John Murray. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dawson, Geraldine, Carver, Leslie, Meltzoff, Andrew N., Panagiotides, Hercles, McPartland, James and Webb, Sara J. 2002. “Neural correlates of face and object recognition in young children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delay, and typical development.” Child Development 73: 700–717. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Haan, Michelle and Nelson, Charles. 1998. “Discrimination and categorisation of facial expressions of emotion during infancy.” In Perceptual Development, Alan Slater (ed.), 287–309. Hove: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
D’Entremont, Barbara, Hains, Sylvia and Muir, Darwin. 1997. “A demonstration of gaze following in 3-to 6-month-olds.” Infant Behavior and Development 20: 569–572. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dubal, Stéphanie, Foucher, Aurélie, Jouvent, Roland and Nadel, Jacqueline. 2010. “Human brain spots emotion in non humanoid robots.” Social , Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 6: 90–97. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Escalona, Angelica, Field, Tiffany, Nadel, Jacqueline and Lundy, Brenda. 2002. “Imitation effects on children with autism.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 32: 141–144. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ekman, Paul and Friesen, Wallace V. 1976. Facial Action Coding System. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Ekman, Paul, Friesen, Wallace V. and Hager, Joseph C. 2002. Facial Action Coding System [CD-Rom]. Salt Lake City: Research Nexus Subsidiary of Network Information Research Corporation.Google Scholar
Fadiga, Luciano, Craighero, Laila, Buccino, Giovanni and Rizzolatti, Giacomo. 2002. “Speech listening specifically modulates the excitability of tongue muscles: A TMS study.” European Journal of Neuroscience 2: 399–402. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Farah, Martha, Wilson, Kevin, Drain, Maxwell and Tanaka, James. 1998. “What is ‘special’ about face perception?” Psychological Review 105: 482–498. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Field, Tiffany. 1979. “Visual and cardiac responses to animate and inanimate faces by young term and preterm infants.” Child Development 2: 47–54.Google Scholar
. 1987. “Affective and interactive disturbances in infants.” In Handbook of infant development, Joy Osofsky (ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
. 1995. “Infants of depressed mothers.” Infant Behavior and Development 18: 1–13. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Field, Tiffany, Field, Tory, Sanders, Chris and Nadel, Jacqueline. 2001. “Children with autism become more social after repeated imitation sessions.” Autism 5 (3): 317–324. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Field, Tiffany and Goldson, Edward. 1984. “Pacifying effects of non nutritive sucking on term and preterm neonates during heal stick procedures.” Paediatrics 74: 1012–1013.Google Scholar
Field, Tiffany, Nadel, Jacqueline, Hernandez-Reif, Maria, Diego, Miguel, Vera, Yanexy, Gil, Karla and Sanders, Chris. 2005. “Depressed mothers’ infants show less negative affect during non-contingent interactions.” Infant Behavior and Development 4: 411–417.Google Scholar
Field, Tiffany and Walden, Tedra. 1982. “Production and discrimination of facial expressions by preschool children.” Child Development 53: 1299–1300. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Field, Tiffany, Woodson, Robert, Cohen, Debra, Greenberg, Reena, Garcia, Robert and Collins, Kerry. 1983. “Discrimination and imitation of facial expressions by term and preterm neonates.” Infant Behavior and Development 6: 485–490. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fogel, Alan, Diamond, G., Longhorst, B., and Demos, V. 1982. “Affective and cognitive aspects of 2-month-olds’ participation in face-to-face interaction with the mother.” In Social Interchange in Infancy: Affect, Cognition and Communication, Edward Tronick (ed.), 37–57. Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Fraiberg, Selma. 1979. “Blind infants and their mothers: An examination of the sign system.” In Before Speech: The Beginning of Interpersonal Communication, Margaret Bullowa (ed.), 149–170. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hains, Sylvia M.J. and Muir, Darwin W. 1996. “Effects of stimulus contingency in infant adult interactions.” Infant Behavior and Development 19: 49–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Han, Bora, Tijus, Charles and Nadel, Jaqueline. 2013. “Perceptual processing of motion and emotion in low-functioning autism.” Oral presentation at the International Meeting for Autism Research , San Sebastian, Spain.
Harris, Paul L. 1989. Children and Emotion. New York: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
. 1993. “Pretending and planning.” In Understanding Other Minds, Simon Baron-Cohen, Helen Tager-Flusberg and Donald J. Cohen (eds), 228–246. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Heimann, Mikael, Laberg, Kari and Nordoën, Bodil. 2006. “Imitative interaction increases social interest and elicited imitation in non-verbal children with autism.” Infant and Child Development 15: 297–309. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Izard, Carroll, Fantauzzo, Christina, Castle, Janine, Haynes, O. Maurice, Rayias, Maria and Putnam, Priscilla. 1995. “The ontogeny and significance of infants’ facial expressions in the first 9 months of life.” Developmental Psychology 6: 997–1013. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Izard, Carroll and Malatesta, Carol. 1987. “Perspectives on emotional development I: Differential emotions theory of early emotional development.” In Handbook of Infant Development, Joy D. Osofsky (ed.), 494–554. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Kugiumutzakis, Giannis, Kokkinaki, Theano, Makrodimitraki, Maria and Vitalaki, Elena. 2005. “Emotions in early mimesis.” In Emotional Development, Jacqueline Nadel and Darwin Muir (eds), 161–182. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
LaFrenière, Peter. 1988. “The ontogeny of tactical deception in humans.” In Machiavellian Intelligence: Social Expertise and the Evolution of Intelligence in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans, Richard W. Byrne and Andrew Whiten (eds). Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Lepage, Jean-François and Théoret, Hugo. 2007. “The mirror neuron system: Grasping other’s actions from birth?” Developmental Science 5: 513–529. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loveland, Katherine, Tunali-Kotoski, Belgin, Pearson, Deborah, Brelsford, Kristin, Ortegon, Juliana and Chen, Richard. 1994. “Imitation and expression of facial affect in autism.” Development and Psychopathology 6: 433–444. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Maestro, Sandra, Muratori, Filippo, Barbieri, Filippo, Casella, Cristina, Cattaneo, Valeria, Cavallaro, M. Cristina, Cesari, Alessia, Milone, Annarita, Rizzo, Lenio, Viglione, Valentina, Stern, Daniel D. and Palacio-Espasa, Francisco. 2001. “Early behavioral development in autistic children: The first 2 years of life through home movies.” Psychopathology 34: 147–152. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mangelsdorf, Sarah, Shapiro, Janet and Marzolf, Donald. 1995. “Developmental and temperamental differences in emotion regulation in infancy.” Child Development 66: 1817–1828. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Peter, Young, Thomas and Meltzoff, Andrew. 2010. “Neural correlates of action observation and execution in 14-month-old infants: An event-related desynchronization study.” Developmental Science 14 (3): 474–480. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mascolo, Michael F. and Griffin, Sharon. 1998. What Develops in Emotional Development? New York: Plenum Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muir, Darwin and Nadel, Jacqueline. 1998. “Infant social perception.” In Perceptual Development, Alan Slater (ed.), 247–285. Hove: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Murray, Lynne and Trevarthen, Colwyn. 1985. “Emotional regulation of interaction between two-month-olds and their mother’s.” In Social Perception in Infants, Tiffany Field and Nathan Fox (eds), 177–197. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Nadel, Jacqueline. 1994. “The development of communication: Wallon’s framework and influence.” In Early Child Development in the French Tradition, André Vyt, Henriette Bloch and Marc Bornstein (eds), 177–189. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
. 2002. “When do infants expect?” Infant Behavior and Development 25: 30–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2006. “Does imitation matter to children with autism?” In Imitation and the Development of the Social Mind: Lessons from Typical Development and Autism, Sally Rogers and Justin Williams (eds), 118–137. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
. 2011. Imiter Pour Grandir. Paris: Dunod.Google Scholar
Nadel, Jacqueline and Aouka, Nadra. 2006. “Imitation: Some cues for intervention approaches in Autistic Spectrum Disorder.” In Early Social Communication in Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Tony Charman and Wendy Stone (eds), 219–235. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Nadel, Jacqueline and Baudonnière, Pierre-Marie. 1982. “The social function of reciprocal imitation in 2-year-old peers.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 5: 95–109. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nadel, Jacqueline, Carchon, Isabelle, Kervella, Claude, Marcelli, Daniel and Réserbat-Plantey, Denis. 1999. “Expectancies for social contingencies in 2-month-olds.” Developmental Science 2: 164–173. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nadel, Jacqueline, Croué, Sabine, Mattlinger, Marie-Jeanne, Canet, Pierre, Hudelot, Christian, Lécuyer, Colette and Martini, Mary. 2000. “Do children with autism have ontological expectancies concerning human behavior? A pilot study.” Autism 4: 133–145. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nadel, Jacqueline, Simon, M., Canet, Pierre, Soussignan, Robert, Blancard, Philipe, Canamero, Lola and Gaussier, Philippe. 2006. “Human responses to an expressive robot.” Proceedings of the International Conference of Epigenetic Robotics : 79–86.
Nadel, Jacqueline, Soussignan, Robert, Canet, Pierre, Libert, Guillaume and Gérardin, Priscille. 2005. “Two-month-old infants of depressed mothers show mild, delayed and persistent change in emotional state after non-contingent interaction.” Infant Behavior and Development 4: 418–425. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oster, Harriet. 2004. “The repertoire of infant facial expressions: An ontogenetic perspective.” In Emotional Development: Recent Research Advances, Jacqueline Nadel and Darwin Muir (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oster, Harriet and Ekman, Paul. 1978. “Facial behavior in child development.” Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology 11: 231–276.Google Scholar
Panksepp, Jaak. 1998. Neuroaffective Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pelphrey, Kevin A., Morris, James P., McCarthy, Gregory and LaBar, Kevin S. 2007. “Perception of dynamic changes in facial affect and identity in autism.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 2: 140–149. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pineda, Jaime A. 2005. “The functional significance of mu rhythms: Translating ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ into ‘doing’.” Brain Research Review 50: 57–68. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Piontelli, Alessandra. 2010. Development of Normal Fetal Movements. Heidelberg: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pizzagalli, Diego, Regard, Marianne and Lehmann, Dietrich. 1999. “Rapid emotional face processing in the human right and left brain hemispheres: An ERP study.” Neuroreport 10: 2691–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Raos, Vassilis, Evangeliou, Mina and Savaki, Helen. 2007. “Mental simulation of action in the service of action perception.” The Journal of Neuroscience 46: 12675–12683. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reddy, Vasudevi. 2008. How Infants Know Minds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Rochat, Philippe, Neisser, Ulric and Marian, Viorica. 1998. “Are young infants sensitive to interpersonal contingency?” Infant Behavior and Development 21: 355–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rochat, Philippe and Striano, Tricia. 1999. “Social-cognitive development in the first year.” In Early Social Cognition, Philippe Rochat (ed.), 3–34. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Saarni, Carolyn. 1999. The Development of Emotional Competence. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Soussignan, Robert, Nadel, Jacqueline, Canet, Pierre and Gérardin, Priscille. 2006. “Sensitivity to social contingency and positive emotion in 2-month-olds.” Infancy 2: 128–139.Google Scholar
Soussignan, Robert, Schaal, Benoist, Marlier, Luc and Jiang, Tao. 1997. “Facial and autonomic responses to biological and artificial olfactory stimuli in human neonates: Re-examining early hedonic discrimination of odours.” Physiology and Behavior 62: 755–768. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stern, Daniel. 1974. “Mother and infant at play: The dyadic interaction involving facial, vocal and gaze behaviours.” In The Effect of the Infant on its Caregiver, Michael Lewis and Leonard Rosenblum (eds). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Stormack, Kjell and Braarud, Hanne. 2004. “Infants’ sensitivity to social contingency: A ‘double video’ study of face-to-face communication between 2-to 4-month-olds and their mothers.” Infant Behavior and Development 27: 195–203. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, Helene, Brun, Philippe and Nadel, Jaqueline. 2005. “Emotion sharing and emotion knowledge: Typical and impaired development.” In Emotional Development: Recent Research Advances, Jaqueline Nadel and Darwin Muir (eds), 341–363. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Trevarthen, Colwyn. 1977. “Descriptive analyses of infant communication behaviour.” In Studies in Mother-Infant Interaction: The Loch Lomond Symposium, H. Rudolph Schaffer (ed.), 227–270. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
. 2001. “The neurobiology of early communication: Intersubjective regulations in human brain development.” In Handbook on Brain and Behaviour in Human Development, Alex Kalverboer and Albert Gramsbergen (eds), 841–882. Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Tronick, Edward, Als, Heidelise, Adamson, Lauren, Wise, Susan and Brazelton, T. Berry. 1978. “The infant’s response to entrapment between contradictory messages in face-to-face interaction.” Journal of American Academy of Child Psychiatry 17: 1–13. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vuilleumier, Patrik and Pourtois, Gilles. 2007. “Distributed and interactive brain mechanisms during emotion face perception: Evidence from functional neuroimaging.” Neuropsychologia 45: 174–194. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wallon, Henri. 1934. La Vie Mentale. Paris: L’Encyclopédie Française.Google Scholar
. 1938. Les Origines du Caractère chez L’enfant. Paris: Félix Alcan.Google Scholar
Wellman, Henry M. 1993. “Early understanding of mind: The normal case.” In Understanding Other Minds, Simon Baron-Cohen, Helen Tager-Flusberg and Donald J. Cohen (eds), 10–39. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar