Anatomy

Sexual Violence And Rape: The Anatomy Of Reaction – Feminism in India

Trigger warning: Rape and Sexual Violence

Posted by Solanki Chakraborty

What is it about the act of rape that enrages the public so much?

The 3 rape cases that stirred the public the most in the last 7 years are that of Delhi, Kathua, and Hyderabad. In all 3 cases, the victims were murdered after the gang rape. The brutality of the violence got imprinted in the minds of the spectator public so much so that most people I spoke to could narrate the details of the respective crimes in perfect sequence verbatim. Meanwhile news of several other cases of rape went around, mostly in homogeneous circles that did not create such a stir. So, let me re-frame the initial question and ask, what is it about some acts of rape that enrages the public so much?

We cannot deny the intricate details of the act of each rape that had been discussed by the media. In the incident of the Kathua rape, her photo, the color of her dress, her eyes, her hair all became objects that stood for her innocence as a child. There were even cartoon images of her speaking to the soul of Nirbhaya after death. While the public was shocked that there had been rallies conducted to support the rapists, the public themselves displayed outrage only after the details of the rape were published in the media after the investigation which was about a month after the incident. Why this delay?

Where does the sympathy of the public vanish when news of other rape incidents surface? What happens to slogans like Rape is Rape and Rapists are Rapists when Kunan Poshpora is spoken of (23rd February just went by), the Kunduli rape allegation is forcibly falsified? Why does not the public remember the history of Bhanwari Devi and Phoolan Devi? Dont their experiences resonate with our idea of what an act of rape should be like? Or is it that their survival, resilience, and defiance of patriarchy undoes their trauma of the violence and therefore does not deserve much attention anymore?

In the incident of the Kathua rape, her photo, the color of her dress, her eyes, her hair all became objects that stood for her innocence as a child.

So, in order to answer the previous question, let me attempt to answer its negative: Why is it that some acts of rape DO NOT enrage the public so much?

Most of the incidents that make it to the news have taken place in popular cities, capital cities, etc. Nabanita Roy, in an article in Round Table India, has cited an invisibility of non-metropolis locations in national statistics and national media as one reason to overlook rapes that take place in villages and small towns. Reading the Crime in India- 2017 Statistics, she points out that locations are identified either as a State/Union Territory or as a Metropolitan city. Crimes that take place in locations apart from these (Kunduli or Sutia) are subsumed into numbers, not qualifying for an independent dialogue on itself. With a complete invisibility of such incidents from the national media, they do not figure even in the national memory.

Also read: The Protesting Lawyers In Kathua Are A Threat To The Justice System

The more the details/sequence of the violence gets published, the more chances for the sympathy of the reader/audience. There is almost a demand by the public to know more about the violence in order to win their solidarity. It is a price every survivor/victim will have to pay. What else can explain the delayed reaction of the public in the Kathua rape case but publics voyeurism?

On the one hand, the degree of violence involved in the act of rape is a determinant of the degree of victimhood to be conferred upon the woman. On the other, the circumstances leading to the woman being present at that moment in the location also plays a deciding role in whether we would be enraged or complacent. The reaction displayed as the aftermath of the Park Street rape long back where a middle- aged, single mother was gang raped by her peers on the pretense of dropping her home from a pub late at night makes it evident. While all these italicized descriptors should not matter while registering a complaint of sexual violence, it sure does determine how the public opinion would be of the incident. She did not, therefore, qualify to be a perfect victim.

Marginalized identities are often criminalized in the popular imagination. Working class identities like that of cab-drivers, truck-drivers, construction workers are looked at with suspicion and a certain bestiality and penchant for violence is expected of them. Hence, those incidents where the perpetrators belong to marginalized communities, receive more public attention. And it also becomes easier for us to demand the harshest of punishments for the accused- death sentence. One main reason for the outcry against #MeToo movement was the fact that our peers were being called out; those we had never IMAGINED to be capable of such violence; those social identities we too belong to- same caste-class-occupation-region, etc. It is too close to home then.

In the Kathua incident, for example, the victim, who belonged to the Bakharwal nomadic community, was subjected to violence by the upper caste community of the village to force the same community to migrate from the village. The public refused to communalize the issue and chose to condemn only the brutality of the act. The irrelevance of the outcry can be garnered from the fact that though we continued to rage over the incident, her family was not permitted to bury her body in the same village and was forced to do so in another.

Working class identities like that of cab-drivers, truck-drivers, construction workers are looked at with suspicion and a certain bestiality and penchant for violence is expected of them.

As I conclude, I realize that are many other reasons which I could have written of: oblivion of marital rapes, Intimate Partner Violence, sexual violence against trans persons, sex workers, homosexual persons, etc. The uncomfortable answer that emerges of the first question I had asked, is that it is mostly the identity of the perpetrator and the narrative that is woven around it that makes some acts of rape condemnable and others passable.

Also read: How Could The Media Have Done Better In Covering The Hyderabad Rape-Murder? | #GBVinMedia

So, it is not only the act that evokes reaction but the larger political economy in which it is taking place. We need to accept the fact that rape need not be read politically; it already is. And we need to introspect and realize our deep-seated prejudices of caste and class that not only prevents adequate attention to be paid to many cases of sexual violence around us but also enables and grants impunity to perpetrators close to us in social/caste circles.

Solanki is an independent researcher from Kolkata, based in Hyderabad. She is an M.Phil. graduate in Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad. She is interested in food history and she swears by Bollywood. You can follow her on Facebook.

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Sexual Violence And Rape: The Anatomy Of Reaction - Feminism in India

Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy: 5 Reasons Crossovers With Station 19 Work (And 5 They Don’t) – Screen Rant

Grey's Anatomy and its spin-offStation 19 co-exist within blocks of each other in Seattle. Under the same production company, Shondaland, and showrunner, Krista Vernoff, the two series had the rare crossover event. However,whenStation 19 began its third season, the behind the scenes crew decided to merge the two shows more often.

RELATED:Grey's Anatomy: 10 Characters Who Got Better As The Show Progressed

Starting in the first half ofGrey's sixteenth season, Jackson Avery began a romantic relationship withStation 19's Vic Hughes. However, the merge also helps married couple Miranda Bailey and Ben Warren to spend more time together, as their storylines get more time split between the two shows. While the weekly crossovers may have helped ratings, fans viewed the crossovers to be a more controversial topic.

With Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and the Station 19 Fire Department so close, it makes sense that they would run into each other sometimes. Rescuing characters from a dangerous fire or situation and bringing them directly to the hospital allows viewers to see a patient all the way through. It also shows that the fire station and hospital find ways to work together, not just professionally, but personally as well.

By the patients moving from one show to another, they can grow more as characters in different environments. Joey, an orphan, watching after his foster siblings inStation 19, continues his journey to recovery inGrey's Anatomy.

Although this has less to do with the storylines and more to do with the audience, it is still a valid concern. While the weekly merges may be a more fun event for fans of bothGrey's Anatomy andStation 19, not both shows are for everyone. Long time fans ofGrey's Anatomy that did not watchStation 19 were upset to find that to stay caught up with their favorite Grey Sloan doctors, and they had to tune in toStation 19.

RELATED:Grey's Anatomy: Jo Wilson's 10 Most Heartbreaking Moments

Meanwhile, for those less interested in doctors but enjoy the firefighters, they have to remain watching to keep up with their favorite characters showing up at Grey Sloan.

WhenStation 19 premiered, it was not described in the best light. The spin-off did not have the same emotional impact that fans had been known to expect fromGrey's Anatomy from as early as the pilot episode.Meanwhile,Station 19 did not have the same responses during the first two seasons.

However, after starting to combine withGrey's Anatomy, reviews forStation 19 improved, stating that the series had developed in a positive direction. The show was able to come out on its own, gaining more followers each week.

It makes sense thatGrey's Anatomy andStation 19 would cross paths every once and a while. Especially during events such as a dense fog, massive wind, or blizzards. However, weekly crossovers remove some of the excitement that comes with a crossover event.

By making it so often, viewers may feel forced to watch both just to understand what is happening. Sometimes it may be better to keep the events more separate to allow it to feel more like a novelty. Separating the number of crossovers enables the audience to feel more invested in the individual shows.

During significant scale events, the crossovers affect everybody. There is a more substantial chance of a fan-favorite getting injured or killed in an incident during the weather storms or other problematic matters. Bailey had gotten scared of why Ben was not answering his phone during a terrifying weather problem.

RELATED:Grey's Anatomy: 10 Couples That Would Have Made A Lot Of Sense (But Never Got Together)

By utilizing the events that way, the viewers understand that something may have been happening and are naturally curious to see if there is a development. For fans that know what to expect from Shondaland, they understand that there could be an unfortunate incident leading into the next hour.

OKIERIETE ONAODOWAN, CHANDRA WILSON[/caption]

IfGrey's Anatomy andStation 19 are continually interacting, does that accidentally causes each series to lose their identities? While this may be less of a struggle for the veteranGrey's Anatomy,Station 19 does not have the same background. The spin-off is still early in its run of the third season.

Not just one of their main characters is from the original series, but even their pilot could be considered a crossover event. If the two shows continue to consistently crossover, it may eventually just feel like one long two-hour episode rather than two individual shows.

BeforeStation 19, Miranda Bailey and Ben Warren met during the merge between Seattle Grace Memorial and Mercy West. They eventually got married, and Ben's character was utilized as the jump point to diverge into the spin-off. By making the two shows more involved with each other, the viewers are shown a more in-depth knowledge of each other's work lives and time at home.

It also gives theGrey's Anatomy characters a chance to branch outside the hospital for their romantic relationships. For so long, the doctors have mainly held their romantic advances with their colleagues,which caused a lot of in-house problems. However, by getting them connected to the firefighters, it has given some breathing space to hospital romances. Jackson and Vic are two of the members that have taken advantage of the connection.

JESSE WILLIAMS, BARRETT DOSS[/caption]

By separating romantic couples, even the brief time they spend together appearing on each other's shows may not be enough to prove the relationship convincing.Grey's Anatomy features a long line of great, devastating pairings that all stem from the hospital. Given that characters like Miranda Bailey and Ben Warren had spent years together onGrey's Anatomy before Ben joined the fire station, their relationship avoids some of these struggles.

However, others do not have that advantage. Following relationships between characters when fans have not watched both shows may make the relationship seem less significant than if it had been with a character that they were more familiar with.

With both shows having such massive casts, it can be challenging to manage so many characters at once. By introducing romances between characters from each show, they appear in both series. Not only does that give the relationships room to blossom, but they also allow audiences to become more accustomed to the characters.

Those who may not have had such significant roles beforehand are appearing more often in guest roles on the other show.Grey's Anatomycharacters like Miranda Bailey, Jackson Avery, and Carina De Luca andStation 19's Barrett Doss have appeared more often due to the number of crossovers.

Just because the creators and writers can merge the shows weekly doesn't mean they should. Each series was doing fine on its own without the need for a merge.WhileStation 19's ratings may have improved weekly, that is not a reason to continually mix the shows.

Often, it is not a full crossover anyway, just glorified cameos by a few members of each series. However, while it may be amusing, it does not always add something to either show. Sometimes, the cameos appear for continuity's sake with the guest stars not doing much of anything.

NEXT:5 Things Station 19 Does Better Than Grey's Anatomy (& 5 Things It Does Worse)

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Grey's Anatomy: 5 Reasons Crossovers With Station 19 Work (And 5 They Don't) - Screen Rant

Anatomy

Behind-the-Scenes Photos From the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Set – MarieClaire.com

2005: Becoming Meredith Grey

Ellen Pompeo is the highest-paid actress on TV thanks to Meredith Greybut she almost turned it down.

"I was offered the role of Meredith. I had done a movie for the studio called Moonlight Mile, so the studio was aware of me. Then...I met Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman...We sat down and talked about me possibly doing an arc on Alias. That didn't happen. Bob and Alex wrote a show called Secret Service," Pompeo told TV Guide. "I really wanted to do that and the studio really wanted me to do Grey's instead. I wanted to do the Secret Service pilot that didn't go, of course; me and my brilliant choices. I read Grey's and I went and met Shonda and I decided to come on and do this. It was just an invitation and I happily accepted."

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Anatomy

One Life to Live’s Josh Kelly to Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy – Soaps.com

Image: J. Graylock/JPI

Josh Kellys character threatens to blow up a pawn shop.

Actor Josh Kelly, who Soaps.com readers may remember as One Life to Lives Cutter Wentworth, a role he played from 2010 2013, and reprised in Prospect Parks reboot in 2013, is set to appear on two ABC primetime shows next week. Kelly will take on the role of an army veteran named Kyle who threatens to blow up a pawn shop in the Thursday March 19 episode of Station 19 entitled Poor Wandering One. As the situation plays out, watch for Sullivan (Boris Kodjoe) to reflect on his past experiences as a marine in order to defuse the situation. Also on this episode, Vic (Barrett Doss) and Dean (Okieriete Onaodowan) struggle to reason with a man battling Alzheimers disease, and Pruitt (Miguel Sandoval) takes a stand to honor fallen firefighters. A Young and Restless alum who played Kyle Abbott, Lachlan Buchanan, recently joined Station 19 as Emmett, and former Charlie Ashby actor, Noah Gerry, recurs on Station 19 as Joey. Garrett Morris (Martin; Mouth, General Hospital) will appear as Earl, the man suffering from Alzheimers disease.

Kelly will then appear as Kyle on the Thursday March 19 episode of Greys Anatomy airing directly following Station 19, as the army veteran is admitted for care at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Entitled Give A Little Bit, the installment will surround Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) doing a pro bono surgery day and struggling to keep things in order as she is overwhelmed by the patient response. Additionally, DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) suspects a teenage patient hes treating is in danger and becomes desperate to get Bailey (Chandra Wilson) to support his theory. Station 19 airs on CBS at 8:00 PM EST followed by Greys Anatomy at 9:00 PM EST.

Kelly recently appeared as Mr. Davenport in the thriller film, InstaPsycho, and plays Robbie on Bluff City Lawyers, which is awaiting word on whether it will be renewed for a second season. The actor just completed work on another film, Alone, which centers on a woman who is forced to fight for survival after being lured to a cabin in the woods, co-starring actor Michael Par (Eddie and the Cruisers).

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Neuroscience

Washington University to break ground on neuroscience research hub – St. Louis American

Washington University in St. Louis will begin construction this month on what will be one of the largest neuroscience research buildings in the country. Located on the School of Medicine campus, the 11-story, state-of-the-art research facility will merge, cultivate and advance some of the worlds leading neuroscience research.

The 609,000-square-foot facility and interconnected projects initially will bring together over 100 research teams focused on solving the many mysteries of the brain and the bodys nervous system. Those teams, comprising some 875 researchers, will come from a wide array of disciplines, including the medical schools neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry and anesthesiology departments.

Washington University is one of the premier institutions in the world in neuroscience research, with faculty known for their contributions to the understanding of normal brain development, how nerve cells communicate, neuroimaging, neurological diseases such as Alzheimers disease, and surgical treatments for cerebral palsy, among other contributions, said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.

With this new building, we are able to offer the neuroscience community a central home and a laboratory environment that can inspire entirely new concepts that allow us to grasp a much deeper understanding of the brain and have a global impact on health and science.

The School of Medicine has a long history as one of the worlds foremost centers for neuroscience research, including as a leading institution in the study of Alzheimers disease. Its scientists have identified key molecules involved in sculpting nervous system development and triggers of neurodegenerative diseases, mapped connections from brain region to brain region, and developed pioneering surgical treatments for nerve injuries, among other groundbreaking discoveries.

David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor, said the new facility will open the door to bold new research initiatives and partnerships.

Understanding the brain is key to addressing some of the most devastating afflictions that affect mankind, Perlmutter said.

So many of us have been touched by the inexorable decline of our loved ones due to diseases and conditions such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons, brain trauma, glioblastoma and severe mental illness, and we have learned that the development of effective therapies has proven formidable. As scientists, we believe that a deeper understanding of cognition and emotional regulation can help us address major public health problems such as obesity, substance abuse, depression and suicide.

The initiative will increase synergy and facilitate greater collaboration between scientists in the medical schools neuroscience-focused departments and researchers in related disciplines, especially those whose work requires close collaboration with neuroscientists.

Collaboration across disciplines will be key to advancing our understanding of this new frontier in medicine, Perlmutter said.

For example, new studies have recognized the importance of the microbiome and its interaction with our immune system in shaping the development and function of the brain. Work on synaptic connections in the nervous system is also critical to the development of machine intelligence and socially interactive robots that could solve many of the most important challenges of modern society. This building will be dedicated to advancing our global leadership position in solving these very big problems with imagination and rigor.

The new research center to be located at 4370 Duncan Ave. also is expected to inspire health-minded entrepreneurial pursuits and synergy with visionary business developers situated within a stones throw of the new research center. The building and related construction, which will be built at an expected cost of $616 million, will sit at the eastern edge of the Medical Campus, in the 200-acre Cortex Innovation Community, one of the fastest-growing business, innovation and technology hubs in the United States, and home to numerous biotech startups founded by Washington University faculty, staff and students.

We are constructing the building at the intersection of Cortex and the Medical Campus to encourage efforts by Washington University neuroscientists to transform their research into innovations that can move rapidly to improve medical care and quality of life for people with neurological conditions, said Jennifer K. Lodge, the universitys vice chancellor for research.

Among Washington Universitys achievements in the field of neuroscience, two Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been won by scientists at the university. In 1944, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Gasser won the Nobel for their work studying nerve fibers. They showed that the conduction velocity of nerve impulses is faster in thick nerve fibers than in thin fibers, and identified numerous other properties of sensory and motor nerves. And in 1986, Stanley Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini won the Nobel for discovering chemical growth factors essential for cell growth and development in the body. In the 1950s, they discovered nerve growth factor, a protein crucial for building networks of nerves.

A key goal for the neuroscience center is to take what we discover in our laboratories and get it out into the public sector so patients, and society as a whole, can benefit, said David Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology. This building and the collaborations it will grow will position us to achieve meaningful breakthroughs in science and medicine.

An internationally renowned expert on the causes of Alzheimers disease, Holtzman and his team helped develop antibodies aimed at preventing dementia by reducing deposits of the Alzheimers proteins amyloid beta and tau in the brain, and have advanced the understanding of how sleep and apolipoprotein E the most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimers contribute to brain injury. Holtzman also is involved in a project led byRandall J. Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology, to develop a blood test that can measure levels of amyloid beta and other proteins in the blood with the goal of diagnosing Alzheimers before symptoms develop.

Neuroscience research is a synergetic enterprise that depends on the expertise of people in many fields, Holtzman said. By bringing together so much knowledge, talent and passion, this new facility will make it considerably more likely that people will have the kinds of water-cooler discussions that lead to interdisciplinary game-changing ideas and projects.

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Washington University to break ground on neuroscience research hub - St. Louis American

Neuroscience

Washington University to build neuroscience building in the Cortex – KMOV.com

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Neuroscience

New UNC computational tool boosts understanding of genetic disorders affecting the brain – WRAL Tech Wire

CHAPEL HILL Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and colleagues created a new computational tool called H-MAGMA to study the genetic underpinnings of nine brain disorders, including the identification of new genes associated with each disorder.

The research,published inNature Neuroscience, revealed that genes associated with psychiatric disorders are typically expressed early in life, highlighting the likelihood of this early period of life as critical in the development of psychiatric illnesses. The researchers also discovered that neurodegenerative disorder-associated genes are expressed later in life. Lastly, the scientists linked these disorder-associated genes to specific brain cell types.

By using H-MAGMA, we were able to link non-coding variants to their target genes, a challenge that had previously limited scientists ability to derive biologically meaningful hypotheses from genome-wide association studies of brain disorders, said study senior authorHyejung Won, PhD, assistant professor of genetics at the UNC School of Medicine and member of the UNC Neuroscience Center. Additionally, we uncovered important biology underlying the genetics of brain disorders, and we think these molecular mechanisms could serve as potential targets for treatment.

Hyejung Won, PhD UNC photo)

Brain disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimers disease are among the most burdensome disorders worldwide. But there are few treatment options, largely due to our limited understanding of their genetics and neurobiological mechanisms. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revolutionized our understanding of the genetic architecture related to many health conditions, including brain-related disorders. GWAS is a technique that allows researchers to compare genetic sequences of individuals with a particular trait such as a disorder to control subjects. Researchers do this by analyzing the genetic sequences of thousands of people.

To date, we know of hundreds of genomic regions associated with a persons risk of developing a disorder, Won said. However, understanding how those genetic variants impact health remained a challenge because the majority of the variants are located in regions of the genome that do not make proteins. They are called non-coding genetic variants. Thus, their specific roles have not been clearly defined.

Prior research suggested that while non-coding variants might not directly encode proteins, they can interact with and regulate gene expression. That is, these variants help regulate how genes create proteins, even though these variants do not directly lead to or code for the creation of proteins.

Given the importance of non-coding variants, and that they make up a large proportion of GWAS findings, we sought to link them to the genes they interact with, using a map of chromatin interaction in the human brain, Won said. Chromatin is the tightly packed structure of DNA and proteins inside cells, folded in the nucleus in a way to maintain normal human health.

Won and colleagues used this map to identify genes and biological principles underlying nine different brain disorders, including psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, autism, depression, and bipolar disorder; and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Using the computational tool H-MAGMA, Won and colleagues could link non-coding variants to their interacting genes the genes already implicated in previous GWAS findings.

Another important question in brain disorders is to identify cellular etiology the cells involved in the root cause of disease. This is especially critical as the brain is a complex organ with many different cell types that may act differently in response to treatment. In the attempt of finding critical cell types for each brain disorder, the researchers found that genes associated with psychiatric disorders are highly expressed in glutamatergic neurons, whereas genes associated with neurodegenerative disorders are highly expressed in glia, further demonstrating how the two disorder clusters diverge from each other.

Moreover, we classified biological processes central to the disorders, Won said. From this analysis, we found that the generation of new brain cells, transcriptional regulation, and immune response as being essential to many brain disorders.

Won and colleagues also generated a list of shared genes across psychiatric disorders to describe common biological principles that link psychiatric disorders.

Amongst the shared genes, we once again identified the brains early developmental process as being critical and upper layer neurons as being the fundamental cell-types involved, Won said We unveiled the molecular mechanism that underscores how one gene can affect two or more psychiatric diseases.

H-MAGMA is publicly available so that the tool can be widely applicable and available to the genetics and neuroscience community to help expand research, with the ultimate goal of helping people who suffer with brain-related conditions.

The National Institute of Mental Health, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative funded this research.

Other authors were Nancy Sey, Benxia Hu, Won Mah, Harper Fauni, Jessica McAfee, all from UNC-Chapel Hill, and Prashanth Rajarajan, Kristen Brennand, and Schahram Akbarian from Mount Sinai Health System.

(C) UNC-Chapel Hill

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New UNC computational tool boosts understanding of genetic disorders affecting the brain - WRAL Tech Wire

Neuroscience

In the Developing Brain, There’s More Than One Theory of Mind – Technology Networks

In order to understand what another person thinks and how he or she will behave we must take someone else's perspective. This ability is referred to as Theory of Mind. Until recently, researchers were at odds concerning the age at which children are able to do such perspective taking. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS), University College London, and the Social Neuroscience Lab Berlin shed new light on this question in a study now published in the renowned journal PNAS. Only 4-year-olds seem to be able to understand what others think.

The study reports that this unique ability emerges around 4 years of age because of the maturation of a specific brain network which enables this. Younger children are already capable of predicting others' behaviour based on what they think, but the study shows that this prediction of behaviour relies on a different brain network. The brain seems to have two different systems to take another person's perspective, and these mature at different rates.

The researchers investigated these relations in a sample of 3- to 4-year-old children with the help of a video clips that show a cat chasing a mouse. The cat watches the mouse hiding in one of two boxes. While the cat is away the mouse sneaks over to the other box, unnoticed by the cat. Thus, when the cat returns it should still believe that the mouse is in the first location.

This cat-and-mouse game asks the viewer, "Where does the cat look for the mouse?" In the study, only 4-year-olds were able to answer correctly. Credit: MPI CBS

Using eye-tracking technology, the scientists analysed the looking behaviour of their study participants and noticed: Both, the 3- and 4-year-olds expected the cat to go to the box where the mouse had originally been. That is, they predicted correctly where the cat was going to search for the mouse based on the cat's belief.

Interestingly, when the scientists asked the children directly where the cat will search for the mouse, instead of looking at their gaze, 3-year-olds answered incorrectly. Only 4-years-olds succeeded. Control conditions ensured that this was not because the younger children misunderstood the question.

The reason for this discrepancy was a different one. The study shows that different brain structures were involved in verbal reasoning about what the cat thinks as opposed to non-verbal predictions of how the cat is going to act. The researchers refer to these brain structures as regions for implicit and explicit Theory of Mind. These cortical brain regions mature at different ages to fulfill their function. The supramarginal gyrus that supports non-verbal action prediction matures earlier, and is also involved in visual and emotional perspective taking. "This enables younger children to predict how people will act. The temporoparietal junction and precuneus through which we understand what others think - and not just what they feel and see or how they will act - only develops to fulfil this function at the age of 4 years", first author Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann from the MPI CBS explains.

"In the first three years of life, children don't seem to fully understand yet what others think", says co-author Nikolaus Steinbeis from the University College London. "But there already seems to be a mechanism a basic form of perspective taking, by which very young children simply adopt the other's view."

Reference: Wiesmann, C. G., Friederici, A. D., Singer, T., & Steinbeis, N. (2020). Two systems for thinking about others thoughts in the developing brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916725117

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In the Developing Brain, There's More Than One Theory of Mind - Technology Networks

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