Publications by authors named "A Destrebecqz"
Purpose: Predictive coding theories posit that autism is characterized by an over-adjustment to prediction errors, resulting in frequent updates of prior beliefs. Atypical weighting of prediction errors is generally considered to negatively impact the construction of stable models of the world, but may also yield beneficial effects. In a novel associative learning paradigm, we investigated whether unexpected events trigger faster learning updates in favour of subtle but fully predictive cues in autistic children compared to their non-autistic counterparts.
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- Snakes and primates have coexisted for thousands of years, leading to the idea that natural selection favored primates with better snake detection abilities for defensive purposes.
- Researchers have identified an innate mechanism in the human brain that quickly detects snakes based on their visual features, though the key characteristics driving this response are still unclear.
- An EEG study with 6-to 11-month-old infants revealed that while color did not significantly influence neural responses to snakes, it enhanced visual attention, with the strength of snake-specific brain responses increasing with age.
Infants' ability to detect statistical regularities between visual objects has been demonstrated in previous studies (e.g., Kirkham et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effect of motor development on cognition: an ethological perspective.
Dev Med Child Neurol
April 2021
Detecting predators is essential for survival. Given that snakes are the first of primates' major predators, natural selection may have fostered efficient snake detection mechanisms to allow for optimal defensive behavior. Here, we provide electrophysiological evidence for a brain-anchored evolved predisposition to rapidly detect snakes in humans, which does not depend on previous exposure or knowledge about snakes.
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