title: Dual-route imitation in preschool children.
abstract: Imitation can be realized via two different routes: a direct route that translates visual input into motor output when gestures are meaningless or unknown, and a semantic route for known/meaningful gestures. Young infants show imitative behaviours compatible with the direct route, but little is known about the development of the semantic route, studied here for the first time. The present study examined preschool children (3-5years of age) imitating gestures that could be transitive or intransitive, and meaningful or meaningless. Both routes for imitation were already present by three years of age, and children were more accurate at imitating meaningful-intransitive gestures than meaningless-intransitive ones; the reverse pattern was found for transitive gestures. Children preferred to use their dominant hand even if they had to anatomically imitate the model to do this, showing that a preference for specular imitation is not exclusive at these ages.
authors.affiliation: Area of Neuroscience, SISSA, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sebastianutto
authors.affiliation: Area of Neuroscience, SISSA, Trieste, Italy. Electronic address: p.mengotti@fz-juelich.de.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mengotti
authors.affiliation: "Parco Natura Viva", Garda Zoological Park, Research and Conservation Department, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spiezio
authors.affiliation: Area of Neuroscience, SISSA, Trieste, Italy; ANVUR, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella Ida
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Rumiati
authors.affiliation: McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balaban
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male
keywords: Development; Meaningful gestures; Meaningless gestures; Specular imitation