Papers by Giacomo Novembre
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2020
SCAN, 2020
Social interactive learning denotes the ability to acquire new information from a conspecific-a p... more Social interactive learning denotes the ability to acquire new information from a conspecific-a prerequisite for cultural evolution and survival. As inspired by recent neurophysiological research, here we tested whether social interactive learning can be augmented by exogenously synchronizing oscillatory brain activity across an instructor and a learner engaged in a naturalistic song-learning task. We used a dual brain stimulation protocol entailing the trans-cranial delivery of synchronized electric currents in two individuals simultaneously. When we stimulated inferior frontal brain regions, with 6 Hz alternating currents being in-phase between the instructor and the learner, the dyad exhibited spontaneous and synchronized body movement. Remarkably, this stimulation also led to enhanced learning performance. These effects were both phase-and frequency-specific: 6 Hz anti-phase stimulation or 10 Hz in-phase stimulation, did not yield comparable results. Furthermore, a mediation analysis disclosed that interpersonal movement synchrony acted as a partial mediator of the effect of dual brain stimulation on learning performance, i.e. possibly facilitating the effect of dual brain stimulation on learning. Our results provide a causal demonstration that inter-brain synchronization is a sufficient condition to improve real-time information transfer between pairs of individuals.
Cerebral Cortex, 2020
Living in rapidly changing environments has shaped the mammalian brain toward high sensitivity to... more Living in rapidly changing environments has shaped the mammalian brain toward high sensitivity to abrupt and intense sensory events-often signaling threats or affordances requiring swift reactions. Unsurprisingly, such events elicit a widespread electrocortical response (the vertex potential, VP), likely related to the preparation of appropriate behavioral reactions. Although the VP magnitude is largely determined by stimulus intensity, the relative contribution of the differential and absolute components of intensity remains unknown. Here, we dissociated the effects of these two components. We systematically varied the size of abrupt intensity increases embedded within continuous stimulation at different absolute intensities, while recording brain activity in humans (with scalp electroencephalography) and rats (with epidural electrocorticography). We obtained three main results. 1) VP magnitude largely depends on differential, and not absolute, stimulus intensity. This result held true, 2) for both auditory and somatosensory stimuli, indicating that sensitivity to differential intensity is supramodal, and 3) in both humans and rats, suggesting that sensitivity to abrupt intensity differentials is phylogenetically well-conserved. Altogether, the current results show that these large electrocortical responses are most sensitive to the detection of sensory changes that more likely signal the sudden appearance of novel objects or events in the environment.
Plos Biology, 2020
Nervous systems exploit regularities in the sensory environment to predict sensory input, adjust ... more Nervous systems exploit regularities in the sensory environment to predict sensory input, adjust behavior, and thereby maximize fitness. Entrainment of neural oscillations allows retaining temporal regularities of sensory information, a prerequisite for prediction. Entrain-ment has been extensively described at the frequencies of periodic inputs most commonly present in visual and auditory landscapes (e.g., >0.5 Hz). An open question is whether neu-ral entrainment also occurs for regularities at much longer timescales. Here, we exploited the fact that the temporal dynamics of thermal stimuli in natural environment can unfold very slowly. We show that ultralow-frequency neural oscillations preserved a long-lasting trace of sensory information through neural entrainment to periodic thermo-nociceptive input as low as 0.1 Hz. Importantly, revealing the functional significance of this phenomenon, both power and phase of the entrainment predicted individual pain sensitivity. In contrast, periodic auditory input at the same ultralow frequency did not entrain ultralow-frequency oscillations. These results demonstrate that a functionally significant neural entrainment can occur at temporal scales far longer than those commonly explored. The non-supramodal nature of our results suggests that ultralow-frequency entrainment might be tuned to the temporal scale of the statistical regularities characteristic of different sensory modalities.
Journal of Physiology, 2018
Key points r Salient and sudden sensory events generate a remarkably large response in the human ... more Key points r Salient and sudden sensory events generate a remarkably large response in the human brain, the vertex wave (VW). r The VW is coupled with a modulation of a voluntarily-applied isometric force. r In the present study, we tested whether the VW is also related to executing high-precision movements. r The execution of a voluntary high-precision movement remains relatively independent of the brain activity reflected by the preceding VW. r The apparent relationship between the positive VW and movement onset time is explained by goal-related but stimulus-independent neural activities. r These results highlight the need to consider such goal-related but stimulus-independent neural activities when attempting to relate event-related potential amplitude with perceptual and behavioural performance. Abstract Salient and fast-rising sensory events generate a large biphasic vertex wave (VW) in the human electroencephalogram (EEG). We recently reported that the VW is coupled with a modulation of concomitantly-applied isometric force. In the present study, in five experiments, we tested whether the VW is also related to high-precision visuomotor control. We obtained three results. First, the saliency-induced increase in VW amplitude was paralleled by a modulation in two of the five extracted movement parameters: a reduction in the onset time of the voluntary movement (P < 0.005) and an increase in movement accuracy (P < 0.005). Second, spontaneous trial-by-trial variability in vertex wave amplitude, for a given level of stimulus saliency, was Marina Kilintari is a Research Associate based at University College London in the Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology. Her work focuses mainly on cognitive aspects of sensorimotor processes. She is particularly interested in the perception of sensory events and their effect on motor behaviour, as well as in voluntary action. Throughout her career, she has used a range of experimental methods both in humans and non-human primates, including psychophysics, electro-encephalography/magnetoencephalography, electromyography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, to investigate these topics.
NeuroImage, 2019
Survival in a suddenly-changing environment requires animals not only to detect salient stimuli, ... more Survival in a suddenly-changing environment requires animals not only to detect salient stimuli, but also to promptly respond to them by initiating or revising ongoing motor processes. We recently discovered that the large vertex brain potentials elicited by sudden supramodal stimuli are strongly coupled with a multiphasic modulation of isometric force, a phenomenon that we named cortico-muscular resonance (CMR). Here, we extend our investigation of the CMR to the time-frequency domain. We show that (i) both somatosensory and auditory stimuli evoke a number of phase-locked and non-phase-locked modulations of EEG spectral power. Remarkably, (ii) some of these phase-locked and non-phase-locked modulations are also present in the Force spectral power. Finally, (iii) EEG and Force time-frequency responses are correlated in two distinct regions of the power spectrum. An early, low-frequency region (~4 Hz) reflects the previously-described coupling between the phase-locked EEG vertex potential and force modulations. A late, higher-frequency region (beta-band, ~20 Hz) reflects a second coupling between the non-phase-locked increase of power observed in both EEG and Force. In both time-frequency regions, coupling was maximal over the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the hand exerting the force, suggesting an effect of the stimuli on the tonic corticospinal drive. Thus, stimulus-induced CMR occurs across at least two different types of cortical activities, whose functional significance in relation to the motor system should be investigated further. We propose that these different types of corticomuscular coupling are important to alter motor behaviour in response to salient environmental events.
Neuroscience letters, 2019
Defensive motor responses elicited by sudden environmental stimuli are finely modulated by their ... more Defensive motor responses elicited by sudden environmental stimuli are finely modulated by their behavioural relevance to maximise the organism's survival. One such response, the blink reflex evoked by intense electrical stimulation of the median nerve (Hand-Blink Reflex; HBR), has been extensively used to derive fine-grained maps of defensive peripersonal space. However, as other subcortical reflexes, the HBR might also be modulated by lower-level factors that do not bear direct relevance to the defensive value of blinking, thus posing metho-dological and interpretive problems. Here, we tested whether HBR magnitude is affected by the muscular effort present when holding the hand in certain postures. We found that HBR magnitude increases with muscular effort, an effect most likely mediated by the increased corticospinal drive. However, we found strong evidence that this effect is substantially smaller than the well-known effect of eye-hand proximity on HBR magnitude. Nonetheless, care should be taken in future experiments to avoid erroneous interpretations of the effects of muscular effort as indicators of behaviour relevance.
Scientific Reports, 2019
Coordinated behavior promotes collaboration among humans. To shed light upon this relationship, w... more Coordinated behavior promotes collaboration among humans. To shed light upon this relationship, we investigated whether and how interpersonal coordination is promoted by empathic perspective taking (EPT). In a joint music-making task, pairs of participants rotated electronic music-boxes, producing two streams of musical sounds that were meant to be played synchronously. Participants-who were not musically trained-were assigned to high and low EPT groups based on pre-experimental assessments using a standardized personality questionnaire. Results indicated that high EPT pairs were generally more accurate in synchronizing their actions. When instructed to lead the interaction, high and low EPT leaders were equally cooperative with followers, making their performance tempo more regular, presumably in order to increase their predictability and help followers to synchronize. Crucially, however, high EPT followers were better able to use this information to predict leaders' behavior and thus improve interpersonal synchronization. Thus, empathic perspective taking promotes interpersonal coordination by enhancing accuracy in predicting others' behavior while leaving the aptitude for cooperation unaltered. We argue that such predictive capacity relies on a sensorimotor mechanism responsible for simulating others' actions in an anticipatory manner, leading to behavioral advantages that may impact social cognition on a broad scale. Synchronous behavior is a universal means of communication and cooperation observable in diverse species 1-4. In humans, this kind of behavior can be witnessed during activities such as audiences clapping their hands in unison, military units marching, or groups of athletes or dancers coordinating their movements in space and time 5-9. Joint music making is a pervasive example of this phenomenon 10. Even a group of perfect strangers might end up singing together, for example during a competitive sporting game or a religious ritual-more likely so if the individuals support the same team, or believe in the same god, of course. When multiple individuals coordinate their movements in order to achieve interpersonal synchrony, the group benefits in terms of enhanced interpersonal bonding and social cohesion 11,12. Such pro-social effects of interpersonal synchronization have been reported in numerous laboratory studies using a variety of tasks 13-23. For instance, dyadic finger tapping in synchrony is more likely to increase feelings of affiliation 18 , trust, and likeability 16,24. These effects appear early in ontogenetic development, as evidenced by the finding that 14-month old infants, if moved in synchrony with another individual by an experimenter, are subsequently more likely to engage in cooperative helping behavior with that individual 19,25. Even the mere observation of synchronous group behavior can augment perceived social cohesion 26,27. These previous studies demonstrated that interpersonal synchrony is a sufficient condition to boost inter-personal pro-social processes. However, this is only one part of the story. Complementarily to these observations , some studies have shown that social personality traits can also affect interpersonal coordination skills. For instance, in one study, it was reported that individuals affected by Social Anxiety Disorder are impaired in leading a task requiring interpersonal coordination 28. Another study showed that individuals who have high internal Locus of Control (according to a questionnaire assessing to what extent individuals assume life events to be contingent on their personal behavior) are relatively good leaders in the sense that they prioritize stabilizing their own action timing over synchronization with an unreliable virtual partner 29. Taken alongside the above evidence, these results suggest that the link between synchrony and prosociality might be bidirectional: increased
Scientific Reports, 2019
Subcortical reflexive motor responses are under continuous cortical control to produce the most e... more Subcortical reflexive motor responses are under continuous cortical control to produce the most effective behaviour. For example, the excitability of brainstem circuitry subserving the defensive hand-blink reflex (HBR), a response elicited by intense somatosensory stimuli to the wrist, depends on a number of properties of the eliciting stimulus. These include face-hand proximity, which has allowed the description of an HBR response field around the face (commonly referred to as a defensive peripersonal space, DPPS), as well as stimulus movement and probability of stimulus occurrence. However, the effect of stimulus-independent movements of objects in the environment has not been explored. Here we used virtual reality to test whether and how the HBR-derived DPPS is affected by the presence and movement of threatening objects in the environment. In two experiments conducted on 40 healthy volunteers, we observed that threatening arrows flying towards the participant result in DPPS expansion, an effect directionally-tuned towards the source of the arrows. These results indicate that the excitability of brainstem circuitry subserving the HBR is continuously adjusted, taking into account the movement of environmental objects. Such adjustments fit in a framework where the relevance of defensive actions is continually evaluated, to maximise their survival value. To survive in a fast-changing environment, animals must detect and react appropriately to unexpected events. Subcortical reflex circuits allow the execution of fast motor responses. However, stereotyped reflex responses are not always optimal to ensure survival. Therefore, cortical mechanisms can top-down modulate subcortical reflex circuits to produce more appropriate motor reactions, taking into account many stimulus-related factors 1-5. One important factor is the proximity of stimuli with respect to the body. Indeed, sudden stimuli occurring close to the body or specific body parts often elicit stronger defensive reactions 6-9. A typical example of such a proximity-dependent modulation is the enhancement of the blink reflex elicited by intense somatosensory stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist (hand-blink reflex; HBR). Although the HBR is mediated by a subcortical circuit in the brainstem 10,11 , its magnitude is increased when the stimulated hand is closer to the face 8,12. We have recently used geometric modelling to characterise the HBR response field following somatosensory stimulation in a large number of hand positions, and thus derived its fine-grained spatial features around the face 13,14. The HBR response field indicates the behavioural relevance of blinking as a function of stimulus position. This field is commonly referred to as an instance of a peripersonal space (PPS) 15. Many peripersonal response fields are affected by stimulus properties other than proximity 15-17 , and this HBR-derived defensive PPS (DPPS) is no exception: stimulus energy, inter-stimulus interval and probability of stimulus occurrence are all positively related to HBR magnitude 8,10,12 ; similarly, movement of the stimulated hand towards the face expands the HBR-derived DPPS 18-20. In contrast, the effect of stimulus-independent environmental factors on DPPS is less explored; for the HBR response field, to the best of our knowledge, only two environmental factors have been tested: gravitational cues 21 1
NeuroImage, 2018
Much of human learning emerges as a result of interaction with others. Yet, this interpersonal pr... more Much of human learning emerges as a result of interaction with others. Yet, this interpersonal process has been poorly characterized from a neurophysiological perspective. This study investigated (i) whether Interpersonal Brain Synchronization (IBS) can reliably mark social interactive learning, and specifically (ii) during what kind of interactive behavior. We recorded brain activity from learner-instructor dyads using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the acquisition of a music song. We made four fundamental observations. First, during the interactive learning task, brain activity recorded from the bilateral Inferior Frontal Cortex (IFC) synchronized across the learner and the instructor. Second, such IBS was observed in particular when the learner was observing the instructor's vocal behavior and when the learning experience entailed a turn-taking and more active mode of interaction. Third, this specific enhancement of IBS predicted learner's behavioral performance. Fourth, Granger causality analyses further disclosed that the signal recorded from the instructor's brain better predicted that recorded from the learner's brain than vice versa. Together, these results indicate that social interactive learning can be neurophysiologically characterized in terms of IBS. Furthermore, they suggest that the learner's involvement in the learning experience, alongside the instructor's modeling, are key factors driving the alignment of neural processes across learner and instructor. Such alignment impacts upon the real-time acquisition of new information and eventually upon the learning (behavioral) performance. Hence, besides providing a biological characterization of social interactive learning, our results hold relevance for clinical and pedagogical practices.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 2018
Survival in a fast-changing environment requires animals not only to detect unexpected sensory ev... more Survival in a fast-changing environment requires animals not only to detect unexpected sensory events, but also to react. In humans, these salient sensory events generate large electrocortical responses, which have been traditionally interpreted within the sensory domain. Here we describe a basic physiological mechanism coupling saliency-related cortical responses with motor output. In four experiments conducted on 70 healthy participants, we show that salient substartle sensory stimuli modulate isometric force exertion by human participants, and that this modulation is tightly coupled with electrocortical activity elicited by the same stimuli. We obtained four main results. First, the force modulation follows a complex triphasic pattern consisting of alternating decreases and increases of force, time-locked to stimulus onset. Second, this modulation occurs regardless of the sensory modality of the eliciting stimulus. Third, the magnitude of the force modulation is predicted by the amplitude of the electrocortical activity elicited by the same stimuli. Fourth, both neural and motor effects are not reflexive but depend on contextual factors. Together, these results indicate that sudden environmental stimuli have an immediate effect on motor processing , through a tight corticomuscular coupling. These observations suggest that saliency detection is not merely perceptive but reactive, preparing the animal for subsequent appropriate actions.
It is well established that musical training induces sensorimotor plasticity. However, there are ... more It is well established that musical training induces sensorimotor plasticity. However, there are remarkable differences in how musicians train for proficient stage performance. The present EEG study outlines for the first time clear-cut neurobiological differences between classical and jazz musicians at high and low levels of action planning, revealing genre-specific cognitive strategies adopted in production. Pianists imitated chord progressions without sound that were manipulated in terms of harmony and context length to assess high-level planning of sequence-structure, and in terms of the manner of playing to assess low-level parameter specification of single acts. Jazz pianists revised incongruent harmonies faster as revealed by an earlier reprogramming negativity and beta power decrease, hence neutralising response costs, albeit at the expense of a higher number of manner errors. Classical pianists in turn experienced more conflict during incongruent harmony, as shown by theta power increase , but were more ready to implement the required manner of playing, as indicated by higher accuracy and beta power decrease. These findings demonstrate that specific demands and action focus of training lead to differential weighting of hierarchical action planning. This suggests different enduring markers impressed in the brain when a musician practices one or the other style.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), Jan 1, 2012
The capacity to distinguish between one&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;a... more The capacity to distinguish between one&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s own and others&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27; behavior is a cognitive prerequisite for successful joint action. We employed a musical joint action task to investigate how the brain achieves this distinction. Pianists performed the right-hand part of piano pieces, previously learned bimanually, while the complementary left-hand part either was not executed or was (believed to be) played by a co-performer. This experimental setting served to induce a co-representation of the left-hand part reflecting either the self or the co-performer. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the right primary motor cortex and motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the resting left forearm. Results show that corticospinal excitability was modulated by whether the representation of the left hand was associated with the self or the other, with the MEP amplitude being low and high, respectively. This result remained unchanged in a separate session where participants could neither see nor hear the other but still infer his presence by means of contextual information. Furthermore, the amplitude of MEPs associated with co-performer presence increased with pianists&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27; self-reported empathy. Thus, the sociality of the context modulates action attribution at the level of the motor control system.
Joint actions require the integration of simultaneous self-and other-related behaviour.
Human interaction through music is a vital part of social life across cultures. Influential accou... more Human interaction through music is a vital part of social life across cultures. Influential accounts of the evolutionary origins of music favor cooperative functions related to social cohesion or competitive functions linked to sexual selection. However, work on non-human " chorusing " displays, as produced by congregations of male insects and frogs to attract female mates, suggests that cooperative and competitive functions may coexist. In such chorusing, rhythmic coordination between signalers, which maximizes the salience of the collective broadcast, can arise through competitive mechanisms by which individual males jam rival signals. Here, we show that mixtures of cooperative and competitive behavior also occur in human music. Acoustic analyses of the renowned St. Thomas Choir revealed that, in the presence of female listeners, boys with the deepest voices enhance vocal brilliance and carrying power by boosting high spectral energy. This vocal enhancement may reflect sexually mature males competing for female attention in a covert manner that does not undermine collaborative musical goals. The evolutionary benefits of music may thus lie in its aptness as a medium for balancing sexually motivated behavior and group cohesion.
Human rhythmic movements spontaneously entrain to external rhythmic stimuli. Such sensory-motor e... more Human rhythmic movements spontaneously entrain to external rhythmic stimuli. Such sensory-motor entrainment can attract movements to different tempi and enhance their efficiency, with potential clinical applications for motor rehabilitation. Here we investigate whether entrainment of self-paced rhythmic movements can be induced via transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which uses alternating currents to entrain spontaneous brain oscillations at specific frequencies. Participants swung a handheld pendulum at their preferred tempo with the right hand while tACS was applied over their left or right primary motor cortex at frequencies equal to their preferred tempo (Experiment 1) or in the alpha (10 Hz) and beta (20 Hz) ranges (Experiment 2). Given that entrainment generally occurs only if the frequency difference between two rhythms is small, stimulations were delivered at frequencies equal to participants' preferred movement tempo (%1 Hz) and ±12.5% in Experiment 1, and at 10 Hz and 20 Hz, and ±12.5% in Experiment 2. The comparison of participants' movement frequency, amplitude, variability, and phase synchrony with and without tACS failed to reveal entrainment or movement modifications across the two experiments. However, significant differences in stimulation-related side effects reported by participants were found between the two experiments, with phosphenes and burning sensations principally occurring in Experiment 2, and metallic tastes reported marginally more often in Experiment 1. Although other stimulation protocols may be effective, our results suggest that rhythmic movements such as pendulum swinging or locomotion that are low in goal-directedness and/or strongly driven by peripheral and mechanical constraints may not be susceptible to modulation by tACS. Ó
Spontaneous modulations of corticospinal excitability during action observation have been interpr... more Spontaneous modulations of corticospinal excitability during action observation have been interpreted as evidence for the activation of internal motor representations equivalent to the observed action. Alternatively or complementary to this perspective, growing evidence shows that motor activity during observation of rhythmic movements can be modulated by direct visuomotor couplings and dynamical entrainment. In-phase and anti-phase entrainment spontaneously occur, characterized by cyclic movements proceeding simultaneously in the same (in-phase) or opposite (anti-phase) direction. Here we investigate corticospinal excitability during the observation of vertical oscillations of an index finger using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from participants' flexor and extensor muscles of the right index finger, placed in either a maximal steady flexion or extension position, with stimulations delivered at maximal flexion, maximal extension or mid-trajectory of the observed finger oscillations. Consistent with the occurrence of dynamical motor entrainment, increased and decreased MEP responses – suggesting the facilitation of stable in-phase and anti-phase relations but not an unstable 90° phase relation – were found in participants' flexors. Anti-phase motor facilitation contrasts with the activation of internal motor representation as it involves activity in the motor system opposite from activity required for the execution of the observed movement. These findings demonstrate the relevance of dynamical entrainment theories and methods for understanding spontaneous motor activity in the brain during action observation and the mechanisms underpinning coordinated movements during social interaction.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2017
Synchronous movement is a key component of social behavior in several species including humans. R... more Synchronous movement is a key component of social behavior in several species including humans. Recent theories have suggested a link between interpersonal synchrony of brain oscillations and interpersonal movement synchrony. The present study investigated this link. Using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied over the left motor cortex, we induced beta band (20 Hz) oscillations in pairs of individuals who both performed a finger-tapping task with the right hand. In-phase or anti-phase oscillations were delivered during a preparatory period prior to movement and while the tapping task was performed. In-phase 20 Hz stimulation enhanced interpersonal movement synchrony, compared with anti-phase or sham stimulation, particularly for the initial taps following the preparatory period. This was confirmed in an analysis comparing real vs pseudo pair surrogate data. No enhancement was observed for stimulation frequencies of 2 Hz (matching the target movement frequency) or 10 Hz (alpha band). Thus, phase-coupling of beta band neural oscillations across two individuals' (resting) motor cortices supports the interpersonal alignment of sensorimotor processes that regulate rhythmic action initiation, thereby facilitating the establishment of synchronous movement. Phase-locked dual brain stimulation provides a promising method to study causal effects of interpersonal brain synchrony on social, sensorimotor and cognitive processes.
Recent research has shown a marked shift from a nonsocial view of learning to a view that is deep... more Recent research has shown a marked shift from a nonsocial view of learning to a view that is deeply social. The critical challenge in creating a broad theoretical framework lies in explaining how learning in social situations differs from learning in asocial situations. Our theoretical framework explains how the automatic psychological reasoning involved in trust and learning creates a dynamic process of social learning that evolves over time. Implications of this work include testable claims about the effects of reasoning about other people for learning, a unified framework for understanding how beliefs about people affect learning and how learning affects beliefs about people, and a dynamic perspective on learning from and about people that can be used to model effects of experience on learning and development. Research is ongoing, but it is clear that any complete account of learning must explain how learners deal with the joint problems of learning to trust and trusting to learn. Preschoolers mistrust ignorant and inaccurate speakers. Child Dev. 76, 1261-1277 3 Mills, C.M. (2013) Knowing when to doubt: developing a critical stance when learning from others. Dev. Psychol. 49, 404-418 4 Shafto, P. et al. (2012) Epistemic trust: modeling children's reasoning about others' knowledge and intent. Dev. Sci. 15, 436-447 5 Landrum, A.R. et al. (2013) When do children trust the expert? Benevolence information influences children's trust more than expertise. Dev. Sci. 16, 622-638 6 Lane, J.D. et al. (2013) Informant's traits weigh heavily in young children's trust in testimony and their epistemic inferences. Child Dev. 84, 1253-1268 7 Mascaro, O. and Sperber, D. (2009) The moral, epistemic, and mindreading components of children's vigilance towards deception. The double-edged sword of pedagogy: instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery. Cognition 120, 322-330 10 Buchsbaum, D. et al. (2011) Children's imitation of causal action sequences is influenced by statistical and pedagogical evidence. Cognition 120, 331-340 11 Elashi, F.B. and Mills, C.M. (2014) Do children trust based on group membership or prior accuracy? The role of novel group membership in children's trust decisions. J. Exp. Child Psychol. 128, 88-104 12 Vanderbilt, K.E. et al. (2014) In the absence of conflicting testimony young children trust inaccurate informants. Dev. Sci. 17, 443-451 13 Bascandziev, I. and Harris, P.L. (2014) In beauty we trust: children prefer information from more attractive informants. Br. J. Dev. Psychol. 32, 94-99 14 Kinzler, K.D. et al. (2011) Children's selective trust in native-accented speakers. Dev. Sci. 14, 106-111 15 VanderBorght, M. and Jaswal, V.K. (2009) Who knows best? Preschoolers sometimes prefer child informants over adult informants. Infant Child Dev. 18, 61-71
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Papers by Giacomo Novembre