It has long been thought that the prefrontal cortex, as the seat of most higher brain functions, is functionally silent during most of infancy. This review highlights recent work concerned with the precise mapping (localization) of brain activation in human infants, providing evidence that prefrontal cortex exhibits functional activation much…

The paper reviews recent history of study of human emotions in psychology and traces factors that have been responsible for a remarkable increase of interest in emotions, especially as regulators of human behaviors. Research on social referencing is reviewed, showing importance of social referencing with infants as young as 8.5 months. Clinical…

A summary of research on affective and cognitive development in young children with Down syndrome notes that affect and cognition seem as closely interrelated in Down syndrome as in nonretarded children. Overall findings indicate that from birth to two, children with Down syndrome experience significant delays in development of both affective and…

Links infrahuman and human research in an examination of sensory and experiential factors that regulate early mothering behavior. (PCB)

The second of a four-part series on the development of infants and toddlers, this article reviews current research on social and emotional development during the first two years and provides a selected list of activities designed to promote infants' optimal development. Attachment behavior and affective behavior are two major topics explored. (EV)

To make the point that infant emotions are more dynamic than suggested by Differential Emotions Theory, which maintains that infants show the same prototypical facial expressions for emotions as adults do, this paper explores two questions: (1) when infants experience an emotion, do they always show the corresponding prototypical facial…

A developmental model for an empathy-based prosocial motive is presented. The framework of the model is presented in terms of three components of empathy. The first component, empathic affective arousal, is discussed and six involuntary psychological mechanisms which underlie it are described briefly. These mechanisms, in the order in which they…

Reviews literature on children up to age one to determine whether heart rate (HR) is a reliable, stable, and valid measure. Considers factors influencing resting HR and the Law of Initial Values, discusses information about response to stimulation and infant perception and affect obtained by using HR measures, and describes HR use in risk…

Reviews important advances in the study of emotions in infants and the nature of emotional communication between infants and adults. Discusses the relationship of this communication system to children's development. (Author/BJV)

This paper discusses infant attachment, which it defines as a long-lasting emotional bond revealed when a child under stress seeks out and tries to stay close to a specific figure. The paper addresses: (1) What is attachment? Who are the pioneers in attachment theory?; (2) How do we notice attachment in action?; (3) Is attachment the only…

Reviews and critiques the approaches of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases to attachment disorders and finds that they have not made use of findings from developmental research on attachment in developing their criteria. Presents an alternative system of classifying attachment…

An overview of some of the recent developments in experimental research on early infantile autism considers related issues such as language impairments, cognitive and affective deficits, nonverbal communication, social behavior, and therapeutic interventions. Research indicates that difficulty with abstract use of language and with pragmatic…