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Updated: Mar 25, 2026
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Look into my eyes: Investigating joint attention using interactive eye-tracking and fMRI in a developmental sample
E Oberwelland1, L Schilbach2, I Barisic3
1Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Germany; Translational Brain Research in Psychiatry and Neurology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Aachen, Germany; Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Center, Germany.
Joint attention (JA), crucial for social development, involves shared focus on an object. This study reveals how JA brain networks mature from childhood to adolescence, influenced by familiar partners.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Joint attention (JA) is fundamental for social development and interaction.
- The developmental neural basis of JA remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectories of JA using an interactive eye-tracking paradigm.
- To examine the influence of a familiar interaction partner on JA.
- To understand the neural mechanisms underlying JA across development.
Main Methods:
- Interactive eye-tracking paradigm used to study joint attention.
- Analysis of neural activation patterns in children and adolescents during JA tasks.
- Comparison of other-initiated versus self-initiated JA.
Main Results:
- JA activates a consistent network of social brain, attention, and motor control areas across development.
- Self-initiated JA engages reward and decision-making circuits, enhanced with familiar partners.
- Precuneus and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) show developmental shifts in activation specificity.
Conclusions:
- This study offers novel insights into the developmental neural basis of JA.
- Familiar partners enhance self-initiated JA, highlighting its motivational aspects.
- Neural specialization of precuneus and TPJ for JA emerges during adolescence.
