In this presentation, I will introduce two exploratory studies that I am currently conducting. The first is a longitudinal study examining infant breathing patterns in relation to vocalization. To date, two recordings have been made, spaced two weeks apart, when the infant was 7.5 months and 8 months old. The infant’s breathing was recorded using RespTrack, synchronized with audio and video data, while the infant interacted with her caregiver. During these interactions, the caregiver attempted to encourage communication by imitating the infant, providing reinforcement for any vocalizations and babbling, and engaging with novel objects (e.g., a ball or puppet). A temporal acoustic analysis was performed, identifying any sounds made by the infant during these interactions. These acoustic events were then correlated with corresponding respiratory behaviors, specifically inhalation and exhalation phases. The findings will be discussed in the context of existing literature on the development of coordination between vocalization and breathing.
The second study focuses on the relationship between breathing and decision-making processes in baboons. This study leverages the unique experimental setup at the primatology station in La Rousset, where baboons can voluntarily initiate and terminate their participation in experiments by entering a box and solving tasks on a computer screen at their own pace. As the use of breathing belts is not feasible for these animals, we are exploring the use of thermal cameras to monitor their respiration. Building on the hypothesis proposed by Perl et al. (2021), which suggests that information processing and decision-making are optimized during inhalation compared to exhalation, I will present the theoretical framework and the preliminary tests we have conducted.
References:
Perl, O., Ravia, A., Rubinson, M., Eisen, A., Soroka, T., Mor, N., … & Sobel, N. (2019). Human non-olfactory cognition phase-locked with inhalation. Nature human behaviour, 3(5), 501-512.
This work is team effort with Caterina Petrone, Marianne Jover, Aude Noiray, Nicolas Claidieré, Julie Gullstrand. Thanks for the support by the H2C2 Platform (Fabrice Chauchard).