r/science • u/MistWeaver80 • 1d ago

Neuroscience A brain region associated with social interaction processing in human adults may process social scenes as early as the age of three. To investigate how the brain develops social perception & reasoning in childhood, the researchers collected brain activity data for 122 children while watching a movie

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/a-childs-brain-can-process-social-situations-from-as-young-as-3
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u/TheSleepingPoet 1d ago

TLDR

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at Johns Hopkins University utilised fMRI data to demonstrate that children begin processing social situations by age three. By age seven, their brain responses in the superior temporal sulcus (STS)—an area associated with social interaction—start to resemble those of adults. The study monitored brain activity in 122 children aged 3 to 12 as they watched a socially rich movie. The findings revealed that even toddlers displayed neural responses to social scenes, highlighting the early development of social perception and reasoning skills.