Featured Publications
Infant neural sensitivity to eye gaze depends on early experience of gaze communication
Vernetti A, Ganea N, Tucker L, Charman T, Johnson MH, Senju A. Infant neural sensitivity to eye gaze depends on early experience of gaze communication. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2018, 34: 1-6. PMID: 29890461, PMCID: PMC6252267, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.05.007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEvent-related potentialsGaze shiftsBrain responsesGaze communicationDynamic gaze shiftsInfant neural sensitivitySelective brain responsesFunctional brain developmentEye-gaze communicationBlind parentsNeural sensitivitySighted infantsEye gazeSighted parentsCommunicative experiencesPrimary caregiversHuman brainDistinct experiencesCommunication experiencesIndividual environmentsCurrent studyBrain developmentParentsEarly experienceFunctional specialisation
2018
Development of Adaptive Communication Skills in Infants of Blind Parents
Ganea N, Hudry K, Vernetti A, Tucker L, Charman T, Johnson MH, Senju A. Development of Adaptive Communication Skills in Infants of Blind Parents. Developmental Psychology 2018, 54: 2265-2273. PMID: 30335435, PMCID: PMC6254470, DOI: 10.1037/dev0000564.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2017
Simulating interaction: Using gaze-contingent eye-tracking to measure the reward value of social signals in toddlers with and without autism
Vernetti A, Senju A, Charman T, Johnson MH, Gliga T, Team T. Simulating interaction: Using gaze-contingent eye-tracking to measure the reward value of social signals in toddlers with and without autism. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2017, 29: 21-29. PMID: 28939027, PMCID: PMC6987892, DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.08.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAutism spectrum disorderHR-ASD groupLow-risk controlsSocial interactionDiagnosis of ASDNaturalistic social interactionsLow familial riskSocial orientingSocial motivationASD diagnosisReward valueSocial signalsSpectrum disorderSocial videosAge 3Mechanical toysFamilial riskAge 2ToddlersPersonsOrientingAutismDifficultiesRewardMotivationGaze-contingent reinforcement learning reveals incentive value of social signals in young children and adults
Vernetti A, Smith TJ, Senju A. Gaze-contingent reinforcement learning reveals incentive value of social signals in young children and adults. Proceedings Of The Royal Society B 2017, 284: 20162747. PMID: 28250186, PMCID: PMC5360925, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2747.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAdultAttentionChildCuesFixation, OcularHumansMotivationReaction TimeReinforcement, SocialRewardSocial BehaviorConceptsCue-reward associationsReward-predictive cuesSocial orientingVisual attentionSocial cuesReward deliveryVisual cuesIncentive valuePositive incentive valueParticipants' visual attentionReinforcement learningVisual orientingPreferential orientingSocial stimuliRewarding outcomesSocial signalsOrientingCuesPositive outcomesYoung childrenSpontaneous indicationsLearningChildrenAdultsReal life