کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
6227414 1276446 2013 7 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Body Odors Promote Automatic Imitation in Autism
ترجمه فارسی عنوان
بوی بدن از طریق تزریق اتوماتیک در اوتیسم
کلمات کلیدی
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم زیستی و بیوفناوری علم عصب شناسی روانپزشکی بیولوژیکی
چکیده انگلیسی

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorders comprise a range of neurodevelopmental pathologies characterized, among other symptoms, by impaired social interactions. Individuals with this diagnosis are reported to often identify people by repetitively sniffing pieces of clothing or the body odor of family members. Since body odors are known to initiate and mediate many different social behaviors, smelling the body odor of a family member might constitute a sensory-based action promoting social contact. In light of this, we hypothesized that the body odor of a family member would facilitate the appearance of automatic imitation, an essential social skill known to be impaired in autism.MethodsWe recruited 20 autistic and 20 typically developing children. Body odors were collected from the children's mothers' axillae. A child observed a model (their mother or a stranger mother) execute (or not) a reach-to-grasp action toward an object. Subsequently, she performed the same action. The object was imbued with the child's mother's odor, a stranger mother's odor, or no odor. The actions were videotaped, and movement time was calculated post hoc via a digitalization technique.ResultsAutomatic imitation effects-expressed in terms of total movement time reduction-appear in autistic children only when exposed to objects paired with their own mother's odor.ConclusionsThe maternal odor, which conveys a social message otherwise neglected, helps autistic children to covertly imitate the actions of others. Our results represent a starting point holding theoretical and practical relevance for the development of new strategies to enhance communication and social behavior among autistic individuals.

ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Biological Psychiatry - Volume 74, Issue 3, 1 August 2013, Pages 220-226
نویسندگان
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