Bahar Tuncgenc

University of Oxford, Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, Adjunct

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Address: Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology
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64 Banbury Road
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Oxford - UK

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Daniel D. Hutto

University of Wollongong

Robert Lickliter

Florida International University

Karen Wynn

Yale University

Julian Kiverstein

Academic Medical Centre/ Universiteit van Amsterdam

Richard Menary

Macquarie University

David Seamon

Kansas State University

Tad Zawidzki

The George Washington University

Joel Krueger

University of Exeter

Adam M Croom

Case Western Reserve University

John Sutton

Macquarie University

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Papers by Bahar Tuncgenc

Illuminating brain function during gross motor imitation using high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT)

Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation as a Scalable Method for Distinguishing Children With Autism

Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Mar 1, 2021

Background: Imitation deficits are prevalent in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and are associat... more Background: Imitation deficits are prevalent in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and are associated with core autistic traits. Imitating others' actions is central to the development of social skills in typically-developing (TD) populations, as it facilitates social learning and bond formation. We present a Computerised Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI) using a brief (one-minute), highly-engaging videogame task. Methods: Using Kinect Xbox motion tracking technology, we recorded 48 children (27 ASC, 21 TD) as they imitated a model's dance movements. We implemented an algorithm based on metric learning and dynamic time warping (DTW) that automatically detects and evaluates the important joints and returns a score considering spatial position and timing differences between the child and the model. To establish construct validity and reliability, we compared imitation performance measured by the CAMI method to more traditional human observation coding (HOC) method across repeated trials and two different movement sequences. Results: Results revealed poorer imitation in ASC than TD children (ps < .005), with poorer imitation being associated with increased core autism symptoms. While strong correlations between the CAMI and HOC methods (rs = .69-.87) confirmed CAMI's construct validity, CAMI scores classified the children into diagnostic groups better than the HOC scores (accuracyCAMI = 87.2%, accuracyHOC = 74.4%). Finally, by comparing repeated movement trials, we demonstrated high test-retest reliability of CAMI (rs = .73-.86). Conclusions: Findings support CAMI as an objective, highly scalable, directly interpretable method for assessing motor imitation differences, providing a promising biomarker for defining biologically meaningful ASC subtypes and guiding intervention.

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Automated and scalable Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder using a single 2D camera: A pilot study

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sep 1, 2021

Abstract Background Motor imitation difficulties are pervasive in children with Autism Spectrum D... more Abstract Background Motor imitation difficulties are pervasive in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Previous research demonstrated the validity and reliability of an algorithm called Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI) using 3D depth cameras. However, incorporating CAMI into serious games and making it accessible in clinic and home settings requires a more scalable approach that uses “off-the-shelf” 2D cameras. Method In a brief (one-minute) task, children (23 ASD, 17 typically developing [TD]) imitated a model’s dance movements while simultaneously being recorded using Kinect Xbox motion tracking technology (Kinect 3D) and a single 2D camera. Pose-estimation software (OpenPose 2D) was used on the 2D camera video to fit a skeleton to the imitating child. Motor imitation scores computed from the fully automated OpenPose 2D CAMI method were compared to scores computed from the Kinect 3D CAMI and Human Observation Coding (HOC) methods. Results Motor imitation scores obtained from the OpenPose 2D CAMI method were significantly correlated with scores obtained from the Kinect 3D CAMI method (r40 = 0.82, p Conclusions This pilot-study demonstrated that motor imitation can be automatically quantified using a single 2D camera.

Mimicry is associated with procedural learning, not social bonding, neural systems in autism

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Sep 16, 2020

Mimicry facilitates social bonding throughout the lifespan. Mimicry impairments in autism spectru... more Mimicry facilitates social bonding throughout the lifespan. Mimicry impairments in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are widely reported, including differentiation of the brain networks associated with its social bonding and learning functions. This study examined associations between volumes of brain regions associated with social bonding versus procedural skill learning, and mimicry of gestures during a naturalistic interaction in ASC and neurotypical (NT) children. Consistent with predictions, results revealed reduced mimicry in ASC relative to the NT children. Mimicry frequency was negatively associated with autism symptom severity. Mimicry was predicted predominantly by the volume of procedural skill learning regions in ASC, and by bonding regions in NT. Further, bonding regions contributed significantly less to mimicry in ASC than in NT, while the contribution of learning regions was not different across groups. These findings suggest that associating mimicry with skill learning, rather than social bonding, may partially explain observed communication difficulties in ASC. .

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Social bonds are related to health behaviors and positive well-being globally

Science Advances, Jan 11, 2023

At times of turmoil, such as during disasters, social crises, or pandemics, our social bonds can ... more At times of turmoil, such as during disasters, social crises, or pandemics, our social bonds can be key to receiving support and gaining certainty about the right course of action. In an analysis combining two global datasets ( N = 13,264) collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examined how social bonds with close social circles (i.e., family and friends) and extended groups (i.e., country, government, and humanity) relate to engagement in health behaviors and psychological well-being. Results revealed that only family bonding was associated with self-reported engagement in health behaviors. Being strongly bonded with both close circles and extended groups predicted less anxiety and depression and better well-being, particularly for those who were bonded with more groups. These findings highlight that close and extended social bonds offer different sources of support and direction during the most challenging of circumstances and that continuous investment is needed to forge and maintain both.

Trust in science boosts approval, but not following of COVID-19 rules

How essential is trust in science to prevent the spread of COVID-19? Previous work shows that peo... more How essential is trust in science to prevent the spread of COVID-19? Previous work shows that people who trust in science are more likely to comply with official guidelines, which suggests that higher levels of compliance could be achieved by improving trust in science. However, analysis of a global dataset (n=4341) suggests otherwise. Trust in science had a small, indirect effect on adherence to the rules. It affected adherence only insofar as it predicted people's approval of prevention measures such as social distancing. Trust in science also mediated the relationship between political ideology and approval of the measures (more conservative people trusted science less and in turn approved of the measures less). These effects varied across countries, and were especially different in the USA. Overall, these results mean that any increase in trust in science is unlikely to yield strong immediate improvements in following COVID-19 rules. Nonetheless, given its relationships with both ideology and individuals' attitudes to the measures, trust in science may be leveraged to yield longer-term and more sustained social benefits.

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Are Infants’ Social Preferences Grounded in Action Synchrony?

Social context facilitates visuomotor synchrony and bonding in children and adults

Scientific Reports, Nov 24, 2021

Interpersonal synchrony is a fundamental part of human social interaction, with known effects on ... more Interpersonal synchrony is a fundamental part of human social interaction, with known effects on facilitating social bonding. Moving in time with another person facilitates prosocial behaviour, however, it is unknown if the degree of synchronisation predicts the degree of social bonding. Similarly, while people readily fall in synchrony even without being instructed to do so, we do not know whether such spontaneous synchronisation elicits similar prosocial effects as instructed synchronisation. Across two studies, we investigated how context (social vs non-social stimulus) and instruction (instructed vs uninstructed) influenced synchronisation accuracy and bonding with the interaction partner in adults and children. The results revealed improved visuomotor synchrony within a social, compared to non-social, context in adults and children. Children, but not adults, synchronised more accurately when instructed to synchronise than when uninstructed. For both children and adults, synchronisation in a social context elicited stronger social bonding towards an interaction partner as compared to synchronisation in a non-social context. Finally, children's, but not adults', degree of synchrony with the partner was significantly associated with their feelings of social closeness. These findings illuminate the interaction of sensorimotor coupling and joint action in social contexts and how these mechanisms facilitate synchronisation ability and social bonding. Interpersonal synchrony, whereby two or more people move in temporal and spatial coordination with each other, is observed frequently and cross-culturally in group dance, marching bands, and children's clapping games 1,2. Research investigating embodied cognition has shown that synchronous interpersonal movement plays a crucial role in social bonding starting from early infancy 3-6. Interpersonal synchrony may serve important culturalevolutionary functions by helping establish and communicate positive affect, group identity and bonding with others 7. Distinctly from other forms of social coordination (e.g. mimicry and imitation), in interpersonal synchrony, individuals become temporally and spatially aligned in their movements rather than after a short delay. It has been shown that interpersonal synchrony is a self-organising system which can be mathematically modelled 8. Such modelling specifies that oscillations of synchronised individuals settle either within in-phase synchrony (i.e., individuals move in the same way at the same point in the cycle) or anti-phase synchrony (i.e., individuals move with opposite movement at the same point in the cycle)-similar to the oscillations of physical metronomes. There is growing evidence to suggest that interpersonal synchrony is driven by the same coordination principles of the physical world across different contexts, underpinned by the same self-organising physical principles 9-11. However, relatively little is known about how social versus non-social contexts impact synchronisation ability and its subsequent social bonding outcomes in children and adults. Building upon bottom-up sensory and top-down joint action accounts of interpersonal synchrony, we examined the conditions that facilitate synchronisation and its social bonding outcomes in adults (Study 1) and in children (Study 2). Individuals can synchronise their movement with a non-social object (i.e., a metronome) or with another person (interpersonal synchrony). When moving together with another person, different degrees of shared intentionality may exist among the interacting partners. For instance, two individuals may be instructed to synchronise with each other ('instructed synchrony'), they may be instructed to synchronise with an external metronome beat and may thus end up moving synchronously with each other ('incidental synchrony') or they may spontaneously synchronise their movements in the absence of any instruction on how to move ('uninstructed synchrony'). Research investigating interpersonal incidental synchrony has found that individuals feel more bonded to others after performing a task with them that involves synchronous, as compared to asynchronous

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Measuring brain function during motor imitation with high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT)

Biophotonics Congress: Optics in the Life Sciences 2023 (OMA, NTM, BODA, OMP, BRAIN)

We utilized HD-DOT to image fifty adults as they observed and imitated sequences of upper extremi... more

Mimicry and social affiliation with virtual partner are decreased in autism

Copying other people’s mannerisms (i.e., mimicry) occurs spontaneously during social interactions... more Copying other people’s mannerisms (i.e., mimicry) occurs spontaneously during social interactions, and is thought to contribute to sharing emotions, affiliation with partners and interaction quality. While previous research shows decreased mimicry of emotional facial expressions in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), we know relatively little about how non-emotional, non-facial behavioural mimicry manifests and, more importantly, what it means for autistic individuals’ social interactions. In a controlled, semi-naturalistic interaction setting, this study examined how often autistic and neurotypical (NT) children mimicked a virtual partner’s non-facial mannerisms as they engaged in an interactive story-telling activity. Subsequently, children reported how affiliated they felt towards their interaction partner using an established implicit measure of closeness and a set of questions. Results revealed reduced mimicry (p = .001, φ = .38) and less affiliation (p = .01, φ = .33) in ASD rela...

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Social bonds are related to health behaviours and positive wellbeing globally

At times of turmoil – such as during natural disasters, social crises, or pandemics – our social ... more At times of turmoil – such as during natural disasters, social crises, or pandemics – our social bonds can be key to receiving support and gaining certainty about the right course of action. In an analysis combining two global datasets (N= 13,264) collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examined how social bonds with close social circles (i.e., family, friends) and extended groups (i.e., country, government, humanity) relate to engagement in health behaviours and psychological wellbeing. Results revealed that only family bonding was associated with self-reported engagement in health behaviours. Being strongly bonded with both close circles and extended groups predicted less anxiety and depression, and better wellbeing, particularly for those who were bonded with more groups. These findings highlight that close and extended social bonds offer different sources of support and direction during the most challenging of circumstances, and that continuous inves...

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Ostracism, mood, sharing, emotion reading and autistic traits

Humans are a very social species and are motivated to maintain social bonds throughout their life... more Humans are a very social species and are motivated to maintain social bonds throughout their lifetime (Tomasello,2014). When social bonds are threatened through ostracism (exclusion), humans are motivated to correct this discomfort by behaving pro-socially. Ostracism can affect the four primary needs of humans; namely, self-esteem, control, meaningful existence and belonging (Hartgerink, Beest, Wicherts & Williams, 2015). This motivation to correct discomfort is seen across age groups (Over & Carpenter, 2009; Song, Over & Carpenter, 2015; Lakin, Chartrand & Arkin, 2008). Conversely, other theories propose that ostracized individuals experience cognitive destructions (numbness). As a result, they face impaired emotional regulation and empathic understanding leading to harsher and less pro-social reactions (Coyne et al., 2011; Twenge et al., 2007). Part of this discrepancy in behavior can be attributed to differences in personality traits such as pro-self attitudes (Matsumoto et al., ...

Social connections, modes of interaction and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Humans are a highly social species that need to maintain meaningful social connections for surviv... more Humans are a highly social species that need to maintain meaningful social connections for survival and well-being throughout their lifetimes (Hrdy, 2009; Tomasello, 2014). The need for social connections becomes even more prominent when people are faced with threatening, stressful or uncertain situations (Dezecache, 2015; Dezecache et al., 2017). However, the COVID-19 pandemic imposes a particular challenge to maintaining social connections, as minimising physical contact with others is widely advised (and sometimes enforced by authorities) as one of the most effective measures to alleviate the spread of the virus (WHO, 2020). This study aims to answer two key questions: (1) How do people around the world adapt their social interactions to the COVID-19 context? (2) Are certain modes of interaction under conditions of lockdown better for people's well-being? We aim to examine these questions by taking into account differences in cross-cultural values (e.g., collectivism), person...

Affiliation and Overimitation

Dance intervention and wellbeing in young people

According to a 2017 NHS survey, 12.8% of youth in England have at least one mental disorder. Main... more According to a 2017 NHS survey, 12.8% of youth in England have at least one mental disorder. Main predictors of mental disorders include living in low-income, deprived areas, lacking social support and poor well-being. With 20% of youth with a disorder waiting for over six months to access professional services, community-based mental well-being programmes can serve as a preventive method and alleviate the need for urgent clinical intervention. Mental health issues are multi-faceted, involving both social aspects, such as friendship networks and school performance, and psychological happiness. A dance-based programme can be particularly powerful in capturing this multi-faceted nature because it uniquely combines arts and physical activity. Arts can incur health benefits through promoting social inclusion (Macnaughton et al., 2005), resilience and self- esteem (reviews: Daykin etal., 2012; Zarobe & Bungay, 2017). Previous research implementing a 10-week drumming programme showed impr...

Social ties, norms and threat perception in the face of COVID-19

Minimising physical contact with others is one of the most effective measures to alleviate the sp... more Minimising physical contact with others is one of the most effective measures to alleviate the spread of COVID-19, and to enable the health systems to cope with the disease (WHO, 2020). This measure, also called "social distancing", represents a paradigmatic, yet unprecedented form of collective action. It is paradigmatic because it relies on individuals' readiness to change behaviour, invest effort and agree to self-sacrifices for a collective benefit (Zomeren & Iyer, 2009). It is unprecedented because it needs to happen fast under threat conditions and it aims at a collective benefit which spans multiple geographical scales, from one's own household to the entire planet. In such threatening contexts, people typically seek further affiliation and social contact (Dezecache, 2015; Dezecache et al., 2017). Yet, what is currently required is to decrease the amount of physical social interactions, which poses a unique challenge for collective action. Sustaining such co...

Synchrony and group bonding

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The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, 2018

Movement synchrony, social bonding and pro-sociality in ontogeny

Human sociality, with its wide scope, early ontogeny and pervasiveness across cultures, is remark... more Human sociality, with its wide scope, early ontogeny and pervasiveness across cultures, is remarkable from an evolutionary perspective. We form bonds with other individuals and live in large social groups. We help, empathise with and share our resources with others, who are unfamiliar and genetically unrelated to us. It has been suggested that interpersonal coordination and rhythmic synchronisation of movements may be one proximate mechanism that enables such widespread human sociality and facilitates cooperation. In the last decade, considerable research has examined the effect of movement synchrony on social bonding and cooperation. However, when this thesis started, there was virtually no experimental study investigating the ontogeny of the movement synchrony-social bonding link, which is proposed to have deep evolutionary roots and important, long-lasting consequences in social life. This thesis aims to investigate the effects of movement synchrony on social bonding and cooperative behaviour across different time points in ontogeny. Three experimental studies were conducted examining infancy, early childhood and middle childhood. Each study explored a different aspect of social bonding and cooperation based on the motor, social and cognitive developments that mark that age group. Study 1a found that at 12 months of age, infants prefer individuals who move in synchrony with them, when the individuals are social entities, but not when they are non-social. Study 1b showed no preferences for synchrony at 9 months in either social or non-social contexts, however. Study 2 revealed that in early childhood, performing synchronous movements actively with a peer facilitates helping behaviour among the children, as well as eye contact and mutual smiling during the interaction. Finally, Study 3 showed that the social bonding effects of movement synchrony applied to inter- group settings and that performing synchronous movements with out-groups increased bonding towards the out-group in middle childhood. This thesis followed an interdisciplinary, integrative and naturalistic approach, where (i) literature from a wide range of disciplines motivated and guided the present research; (ii) links between motor, social and cognitive aspects of development, which are often investigated separately, are formed; and (iii) the experiments were designed in ways that represent the real-life occurrences of the investigated phenomena. The current findings provide the first substantial evidence that movement synchrony facilitates social bonding and cooperation in childhood and thereby provides a foundation for future research.</p

Chameleon Effect in Autism: Decreased Mimicry of Body Movements in Social Interaction Contexts

Illuminating brain function during gross motor imitation using high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT)

Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation as a Scalable Method for Distinguishing Children With Autism

Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Mar 1, 2021

Download

Automated and scalable Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder using a single 2D camera: A pilot study

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sep 1, 2021

Mimicry is associated with procedural learning, not social bonding, neural systems in autism

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Sep 16, 2020

Download

Social bonds are related to health behaviors and positive well-being globally

Science Advances, Jan 11, 2023

Trust in science boosts approval, but not following of COVID-19 rules

Download

Are Infants’ Social Preferences Grounded in Action Synchrony?

Social context facilitates visuomotor synchrony and bonding in children and adults

Scientific Reports, Nov 24, 2021

Download

Measuring brain function during motor imitation with high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT)

Biophotonics Congress: Optics in the Life Sciences 2023 (OMA, NTM, BODA, OMP, BRAIN)

We utilized HD-DOT to image fifty adults as they observed and imitated sequences of upper extremi... more

Mimicry and social affiliation with virtual partner are decreased in autism

Download

Social bonds are related to health behaviours and positive wellbeing globally

Download

Ostracism, mood, sharing, emotion reading and autistic traits

Social connections, modes of interaction and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Affiliation and Overimitation

Dance intervention and wellbeing in young people

Social ties, norms and threat perception in the face of COVID-19

Synchrony and group bonding

Play

The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, 2018

Movement synchrony, social bonding and pro-sociality in ontogeny

Chameleon Effect in Autism: Decreased Mimicry of Body Movements in Social Interaction Contexts

Movement synchrony, joint actions, and collective agency in infancy

Most human actions take place jointly with others rather than solitarily. In the context of such ... more Most human actions take place jointly with others rather than solitarily. In the context of such joint actions, it is often difficult to distinguish the boundaries among the participants. Who is the agent that performs the action, and who is the recipient? Where do one individual’s actions end and the other’s begin? Instead of evaluating each individual separately, a sense of “we-ness” emerges in joint action settings. This chapter investigates the early development of joint actions by highlighting its social, cognitive, and motor underpinnings. The role of understanding the goals and intentions of other people, identifying animate and inanimate entities as agents, and sharing attention and coordinating movements with other people are assessed with regard to their role in the development of joint actions during infancy.

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