Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience
It has long been hypothesized that pretend play is beneficial to social and cognitive development. However, there is little evidence regarding the neural regions that are active while children engage in pretend play. We examined the activation of prefrontal and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pS...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-10-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2020.560176/full |
| _version_ | 1819112149318893568 |
|---|---|
| author | Salim Hashmi Salim Hashmi Ross E. Vanderwert Ross E. Vanderwert Ross E. Vanderwert Hope A. Price Sarah A. Gerson Sarah A. Gerson |
| author_facet | Salim Hashmi Salim Hashmi Ross E. Vanderwert Ross E. Vanderwert Ross E. Vanderwert Hope A. Price Sarah A. Gerson Sarah A. Gerson |
| author_sort | Salim Hashmi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It has long been hypothesized that pretend play is beneficial to social and cognitive development. However, there is little evidence regarding the neural regions that are active while children engage in pretend play. We examined the activation of prefrontal and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) regions using near-infrared spectroscopy while 42 4- to 8-year-old children freely played with dolls or tablet games with a social partner or by themselves. Social play activated right prefrontal regions more than solo play. Children engaged the pSTS during solo doll play but not during solo tablet play, suggesting they were rehearsing social cognitive skills more with dolls. These findings suggest social play utilizes multiple neural regions and highlight how doll play can achieve similar patterns of activation, even when children play by themselves. Doll play may provide a unique opportunity for children to practice social interactions important for developing social-emotional skills, such as empathy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:08:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06311164857c418e983a57e878ae3bc0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:08:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-06311164857c418e983a57e878ae3bc02022-12-21T18:39:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612020-10-011410.3389/fnhum.2020.560176560176Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through NeuroscienceSalim Hashmi0Salim Hashmi1Ross E. Vanderwert2Ross E. Vanderwert3Ross E. Vanderwert4Hope A. Price5Sarah A. Gerson6Sarah A. Gerson7Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHDS), Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHDS), Cardiff, United KingdomIt has long been hypothesized that pretend play is beneficial to social and cognitive development. However, there is little evidence regarding the neural regions that are active while children engage in pretend play. We examined the activation of prefrontal and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) regions using near-infrared spectroscopy while 42 4- to 8-year-old children freely played with dolls or tablet games with a social partner or by themselves. Social play activated right prefrontal regions more than solo play. Children engaged the pSTS during solo doll play but not during solo tablet play, suggesting they were rehearsing social cognitive skills more with dolls. These findings suggest social play utilizes multiple neural regions and highlight how doll play can achieve similar patterns of activation, even when children play by themselves. Doll play may provide a unique opportunity for children to practice social interactions important for developing social-emotional skills, such as empathy.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2020.560176/fulldevelopmentsocial processingempathyplayfNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy) |
| spellingShingle | Salim Hashmi Salim Hashmi Ross E. Vanderwert Ross E. Vanderwert Ross E. Vanderwert Hope A. Price Sarah A. Gerson Sarah A. Gerson Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience Frontiers in Human Neuroscience development social processing empathy play fNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy) |
| title | Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience |
| title_full | Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience |
| title_short | Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play Through Neuroscience |
| title_sort | exploring the benefits of doll play through neuroscience |
| topic | development social processing empathy play fNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2020.560176/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT salimhashmi exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT salimhashmi exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT rossevanderwert exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT rossevanderwert exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT rossevanderwert exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT hopeaprice exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT sarahagerson exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience AT sarahagerson exploringthebenefitsofdollplaythroughneuroscience |