The functional maturity of the newborn infant’s brain, the resemblances between neonatal imitation and imitation in adults and the possibly lateralized neonatal imitation suggest that the mirror neuron system may contribute to neonatal imitation. Newborn infants not only imitate but also initiate previously imitated gestures, and are able to participate in overlapping imitation–initiation commu...

The meaning, mechanism, and function of imitation in early infancy have been actively discussed since Meltzoff and Moore's (1977) report of facial and manual imitation by human neonates. Oostenbroek et al. (2016) claim to challenge the existence of early imitation and to counter all interpretations so far offered. Such claims, if true, would have implications for theories of social-cognitive de...

In order to shed lights on the cognitive representations likely to underlie early vocal imitation, we tried to simulate Kuhl and Meltzoff's experiment (1996), using Bayesian robotics and a statistical model of the vocal tract that had been fitted to pre-babblers' actual vocalizations. It was shown that audition is compulsory to account for infants' early vocal imitation performance, inasmuch as...

Recent research on the neurobiology of imitation has gone beyond the study of its 'core' mechanisms, focus of investigation of the past years.. The current trends can be grouped into four main categories: (1) non 'core' neural mechanisms that are also important for imitation; (2) mechanisms of control, in both imitative learning and inhibition of imitation; (3) the developmental trajectory of n...

Action imitation, once thought to be a behavior almost exclusively limited to humans and the great apes, surprisingly also has been found in a number of bird species. Because imitation has been viewed by some psychologists as a form of intelligent behavior, there has been interest in how it is distributed among animal species. Although the mechanisms responsible for action imitation are not cle...

OBJECTIVE The catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism has been associated with cognitive and behavioral phenotypes in schizophrenia. Whether COMT genotype is beneficial may depend on phenotype definition. The authors examined the effects of COMT genotype on a task that distinguishes imitation from reversal learning. They hypothesized that the Val and Met alleles would be asso...

This paper gives an overview of research in human and animal imitation mechanisms. The different types of imitative behavior are described as well as the evolutionary reasons for imitation abilities in humans and animals. Known and hypothesized mechanisms behind imitation are also covered. The concepts Goal emulation, Response facilitation and Stimulus enhancement are often confused with pure i...

This paper describes research in which we model social interactions between artificial agents using real robots. We show that variations that arise from embodiment allow certain behaviours, those that are more robust to the processes of embodied imitation, to emerge and evolve during multiple cycles of imitation. We test 3 memory strategies: no memory, limited memory and unlimited memory, and e...

Herding behavior in group (collaborative) decision making has been studied purely as imitation of others and discounting own information. However, collaboration is a dynamic process and decision making should be viewed with this dynamic in mind. Drawing on the "The Laws of Imitation" from sociology, we offer a new perspective to understand herding behavior in group decision making. By acknowled...

Although imitation problems have been associated with autism for many years, the issue if these problems are a core deficit in autism remains subject of debate. In this review article, the question if autism imitation problems fulfil the criteria of uniqueness, specificity, universality, persistency, precedence and broadness is explored and discussed. Findings of this review suggest that there ...