Papers by Robert Soussignan
Cognition & emotion, Jan 4, 2017
While there is an extensive literature on the tendency to mimic emotional expressions in adults, ... more While there is an extensive literature on the tendency to mimic emotional expressions in adults, it is unclear how this skill emerges and develops over time. Specifically, it is unclear whether infants mimic discrete emotion-related facial actions, whether their facial displays are moderated by contextual cues and whether infants' emotional mimicry is constrained by developmental changes in the ability to discriminate emotions. We therefore investigate these questions using Baby-FACS to code infants' facial displays and eye-movement tracking to examine infants' looking times at facial expressions. Three-, 7-, and 12-month-old participants were exposed to dynamic facial expressions (joy, anger, fear, disgust, sadness) of a virtual model which either looked at the infant or had an averted gaze. Infants did not match emotion-specific facial actions shown by the model, but they produced valence-congruent facial responses to the distinct expressions. Furthermore, only the 7- ...
Journal of chemical ecology, Jan 6, 2017
Conjugated forms of odorants contributing to sweat odor occur not only in human sweat but also in... more Conjugated forms of odorants contributing to sweat odor occur not only in human sweat but also in amniotic fluid, colostrum, and milk. However, it is unclear whether the released odorants are detected and hedonically discriminated by human newborns. To investigate this issue, we administered highly diluted solutions of (R)/(S)-3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (MSH), (R)/(S)-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (SH), (E)/(Z)-3-methylhex-2-enoic acid (3M2H), and (R)/(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid (HMHA) to 3-d-old infants while their respiratory rate and oro-facial movements were recorded. Adult sensitivity to these odorants was assessed via triangle tests. Whereas no neonatal stimulus-specific response was found for respiratory rate, oro-facial reactivity indicated orthonasal detection of MSH and SH by male neonates, and of HMHA by the whole group of neonates. Dependent on the dilution of odorants, newborns evinced neutral responses or longer negative oro-facial expressions compared with the refer...
Appetite, Dec 1, 2016
Facial expressions of 5-6 month-old infants born preterm and at term were compared while tasting ... more Facial expressions of 5-6 month-old infants born preterm and at term were compared while tasting for the first time solid foods (two fruit and two vegetable purées) given by the mother. Videotapes of facial reactions to these foods were objectively coded during the first six successive spoons of each test food using Baby FACS and subjectively rated by naïve judges. Infant temperament was also assessed by the parents using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Contrary to our expectations, infants born preterm expressed fewer negative emotions than infants born full-term. Naïve judges rated infants born preterm as displaying more liking than their full-term counterparts when tasting the novel foods. The analysis of facial expressions during the six spoonfuls of four successive meals (at 1-week intervals) suggested a familiarization effect with the frequency of negative expressions decreasing after tasting the second spoon, regardless of infant age, type of food and order of presentation...
Dev Sci, 2009
Whether neonatal odor memory can persist into toddlerhood and influence behaviors that tap proces... more Whether neonatal odor memory can persist into toddlerhood and influence behaviors that tap processes related to cognition (attention and exploration), motivation (choice and consumption), and emotion (hedonic processing) remains underresearched. Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, we examined whether an odor experienced at the mother's breast can be retained at 7 and 21 months. The prescribed prophylactic use of a camomile-scented balm defined two groups: infants exposed (CaE) or never exposed (CaNE) to camomile odor. At 7 months, exploratory responses to three similar objects differing in odor (including camomile) were analyzed. At 21 months, three tasks were used to assess toddlers' (i) facial responses; (ii) exploratory responses to three similar, but differently odorized objects; and (iii) choices between two bottles carrying different odors. CaE infants displayed preferential responses for camomile odor at both ages in every task. In contrast, CaNE infants behaved either randomly or more negatively to camomile odor. This study indicates that early odor memories acquired during breastfeeding can be reactivated and influence behavioral processes until at least toddlerhood.
Enfance Psychologie Pedagogie Neuropsychiatrie Sociologie, 2008
... histoire biomédicale pendant les premières semaines, des caractéristiques individuelles telle... more ... histoire biomédicale pendant les premières semaines, des caractéristiques individuelles telles que le tempérament qui s'enracine dans la vie prénatale (Di Pietro et al ... il est exposé aux odeurs d'anis, de carotte, d'ail, de cumin (cf., par exemple : Schaal et al., 2000 ; Mennella et al ...
Psychological Medicine, Mar 1, 2010
BackgroundTo investigate hedonic reactivity and the influence of unconscious emotional processes ... more BackgroundTo investigate hedonic reactivity and the influence of unconscious emotional processes on the low sensitivity to positive reinforcement of food in anorexia nervosa (AN).MethodAN and healthy women were exposed to palatable food pictures just after a subliminal exposure to facial expressions (happy, disgust, fear and neutral faces), either while fasting or after a standardized meal (hunger versus satiety). Both implicit [facial electromyographic (EMG) activity from zygomatic and corrugator muscles, skin conductance, heart rate, and videotaped facial behavior] and explicit (self-reported pleasure and desire) measures of affective processes were recorded.ResultsIn contrast to healthy women, the AN patients did not display objective and subjective indices of pleasure to food pictures when they were in the hunger states. Pleasure to food cues (liking) was more affected than the desire to eat (wanting) in AN patients. Subliminal ‘fear faces’ increased corrugator muscle reactivity to food stimuli in fasting AN patients, as compared to controls.ConclusionsThe results suggest that unconscious fear cues increase the negative appraisal of alimentary stimuli in AN patients and thus contribute to decreased energy intake.
Psychologie Francaise, 1996
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Papers by Robert Soussignan