Recent Publications and Findings
Meltzoff, A.N., & Marshall, P.J. (2020). Chapter 2- Importance of body representations in social-cognitive development: New insights from infant brain science. In S. Hunnius & M. Meyer (Eds.), Progress in Brain Research (vol. 254, pp. 25-48). Elsevier.
Marshall, P.J., & Meltzoff, A.N. (2020). Body maps in the infant brain: Implications for neurodevelopmental disabilities. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 62(7), 778-783. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.14540
Shen, G., Meltzoff, A.N., Weiss, S.M., & Marshall, P.J. (2020) Body representations in infants: Categorical boundaries of body parts as assessed by somatosensory mismatch negativity. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 44. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100795
Taylor, J., Weiss, S.M., & Marshall, P.J. (2020). “Alexa, how are you feeling today?” Mind perception, smart speakers, and uncanniness. Interaction Studies, 21(3), 329-352. https://doi.org/10.1075/is.19015.tay
Weiss, S.M., Laconi, R.N., & Marshall, P.J. (2020). Individual differences in anticipatory mu rhythm modulation are associated with executive function and processing speed. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 20(5), 901-916. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00809-1.
Past Empirical Papers
Infant brain responses differed when a light tap was felt in lips, hands, or feet of infants, reflecting early differentiation of body parts. Read more:
Meltzoff, A., Saby, J., & Marshall, P. (2018). Neural representations of the body in 60-day-old human infants. Developmental Science., (0), E12698.
In children aged 6-8, brain responses in expectation of touch were related to children’s ability to direct and control their attention more broadly. Read more: Neural measures of anticipatory bodily attention in children: Relations with executive function,
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience,2018.
Our lab found that our brain can automatically categorize different body parts as early as 150 ms after we receive a tactile stimulus. This categorization is likely related to how we use different parts to perform different tasks, and how we label them. Read More: Shen, G., Smyk, N. J., Meltzoff, A. N., & Marshall, P. J. (2018). Neuropsychology of Human Body Parts: Exploring Categorical Boundaries of Tactile Perception Using Somatosensory Mismatch Responses. Journal of cognitive neuroscience , 1-12.
We published an article on how different sensory perceptions interaction with each. We found enhanced brain responses when auditory and tactile stimuli matched each other in terms of how the sound was produced. Read More: Shen, G., Meltzoff, A. N., & Marshall, P. J. (2018). Touching lips and hearing fingers: effector-specific congruency between tactile and auditory stimulation modulates N1 amplitude and alpha desynchronization. Experimental brain research , 236(1), 13-29.
Saby, J. N., Meltzoff, A. N., & Marshall, P. J. (2015). Neural body maps in human infants: Somatotopic responses to tactile stimulation in 7-month-olds. NeuroImage, 118, 74-78.
Drew, A. R., Quandt, L. C., & Marshall, P. J. (2015). Visual influences on sensorimotor EEG responses during observation of hand actions. Brain Research, 1597, 119-128.
Saby, J. N., Bouquet, C. A., & Marshall, P. J. (2014). Young children co-represent a partner’s task: Evidence for a joint Simon effect in five-year-olds. Cognitive Development, 32, 38-45.
Marshall, P. J., & Drew, A. R. (2014). What makes Simon Says so difficult for young children?Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 126, 112-119.
Marshall, P. J., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2014). Neural mirroring mechanisms and imitation in human infants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369, 20130620.
Quandt, L. C., & Marshall, P. J. (2014). The effect of action experience on sensorimotor EEG rhythms during action observation. Neuropsychologia, 56, 401-408.
Marshall, P. J., Saby, J. N., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2013). Imitation and the developing social brain: Infants’ somatotopic EEG patterns for acts of self and other. International Journal of Psychological Research, 6, 22-29.
Saby, J. N., Meltzoff, A. N., & Marshall, P. J. (2013). Infants’ somatotopic neural responses to seeing human actions: I’ve got you under my skin. PLOS ONE, 8, e77905.
Marshall, P. J., Saby, J. N., & Meltzoff, P. J. (2013). Infant brain responses to object weight: Exploring goal-directed actions and self-experience. Infancy, 18, 942–960.
Quandt, L. C., Marshall, P. J., Bouquet, C. A., & Shipley, T. F. (2013). Somatosensory experiences with action modulate alpha and beta power during subsequent action observation. Brain Research, 1534, 55-65.
Marshall, P. J., & Comalli, C. E. (2012). Young children’s conceptualizations of brain function: Implications for teaching neuroscience in early elementary settings. Early Education and Development, 23, 4-23.
Saby, J. N., Marshall, P. J., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2012). Neural correlates of being imitated: An EEG study in preverbal infants. Social Neuroscience, 6, 650-661
Quandt, L. C., Marshall., P. J., Shipley, T. F., Beilock, S. L., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2012). Sensitivity of alpha and beta oscillations to sensorimotor characteristics of action: An EEG study of action production and gesture observation. Neuropsychologia, 50, 2745-2751.
Saby, J. N., Marshall, P. J., Smythe, R., Bouquet, C. A., & Comalli, C. E. (2011). An investigation of the determinants of motor contagion in preschool children. Acta Psychologica, 138, 231-236.
Quandt, L. C., Marshall, P. J., Bouquet, C. A., Young, T., & Shipley, T. F. (2011). Experience with novel actions modulates frontal alpha EEG desynchronization. Neuroscience Letters, 499, 37-41.
Bouquet, C. A., Shipley, T. F., Capa, R. L., & Marshall, P. J. (2011). Motor contagion: Goal-directed actions are more contagious than non-goal-directed actions. Experimental Psychology, 58, 71-78.
Capa, R. L., Marshall, P. J., Shipley, T. F., Salesse, R. N., & Bouquet, C. A. (2011). Does motor interference arise from mirror system activation? The effect of prior visuo-motor practice on automatic imitation. Psychological Research, 75, 152-157.
Marshall, P. J., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2011). Neural mirroring systems: Exploring the EEG mu rhythm in infancy. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 1, 110-123.
Marshall, P. J., Young, T., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2011). Neural correlates of action observation and execution in 14-month-old infants: An event-related EEG desynchronization study. Developmental Science, 14, 474-480.
Marshall, P. J., Bouquet, C. A., Thomas, A. L., & Shipley, T. F. (2010). Motor contagion in young children: Exploring social influences on perception-action coupling. Neural Networks, 23, 1017-1025.
Marshall, P. J., Bouquet, C. A., Shipley, T. F., & Young, T. (2009). Effects of brief imitative experience on EEG desynchronization during action observation. Neuropsychologia, 47, 2100-2106.
Theoretical Writings on Embodiment and Development
Marshall, P. J. (in press). Neuroscience, embodiment, and development. To appear in W. F. Overton & P. C. Molenaar (Eds.), Theory and Method. Volume 1 of the Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (7th ed.). Editor-in-chief: R. M. Lerner. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Marshall, P. J. (2014). Beyond different levels: Embodiment and the developmental system.Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 929.
Marshall, P. J. (2014). The details are being worked out. [Review of: Touching a nerve: The self as brain by Patricia S. Churchland]. PsycCRITIQUES, 59 (3).
Marshall, P. J. (2013). Coping with complexity: Developmental systems and multilevel analyses in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 1311-1324.
Marshall, P. J. (2009). Relating psychology and neuroscience: Taking up the challenges. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 113-125.
Temperament, Attachment, and Emotional Development
Marshall, P. J. (2010). The development of emotion. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1, 417-425.
Marshall, P. J., Reeb, B. C., & Fox, N. A. (2009). Electrophysiological responses to auditory novelty in temperamentally different 9-month-old infants. Developmental Science, 12, 568-582.
Hane, A. A., Fox, N. A., Henderson, H. A., & Marshall, P. J. (2008). Behavioral reactivity and approach-withdrawal bias in infancy. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1491-1496.
Marshall, P. J., & Fox, N. A. (2006). The development of social engagement: Neurobiological perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fox, N. A., Henderson, H. A., Marshall, P. J., Nichols, K. E., & Ghera, M. M. (2005). Behavioral inhibition: Linking biology and behavior within a developmental framework. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 235-262.
Marshall, P. J., & Fox. N. A. (2005). Relations between behavioral reactivity at 4 months and attachment classification at 14 months in a selected sample. Infant Behavior and Development, 28, 492-502 .
The Effects of Early Life Adversity
Vanderwert, R. E., Marshall, P. J., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Fox, N. A. (2010). Timing of intervention affects brain electrical activity in children exposed to severe psychosocial neglect. PLoS ONE, 5, e11415.
Ghera, M. M., Marshall, P. J., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., Nelson, C. A., Smyke, A. T., & Guthrie, D. (2009). The effects of a foster care intervention on socially deprived institutionalized children’s attention and positive affect: Results from the BEIP study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 246-253.
Marshall, P. J., & Kenney, J. W. (2009). Biological perspectives on the effects of early psychosocial experience. Developmental Review, 29, 96-119.
Zeanah, C. H., Egger, H. L., Smyke, A. T., Nelson, C. A., Fox, N. A., Marshall, P. J., & Guthrie, D. (2009). Institutional rearing and psychiatric disorders in Romanian preschool children. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 777-785.
Marshall, P. J., Reeb, B. C., & Fox, N. A. (2008). Effects of early intervention on EEG power and coherence in previously institutionalized children in Romania. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 861-880.
Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., Marshall, P. J., Smyke, A. T., & Guthrie, D. (2007). Cognitive recovery in socially deprived young children: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project. Science, 318, 1937-40.
Smyke, A. T., Koga, S. F., Johnson, D. E., Fox, N. A., Marshall, P. J., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., & the BEIP Core Group (2007). The caregiving context in institution reared and family reared infants and toddlers in Romania. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 210-218.
EEG Measures with Infants and Children
Shen, G., Meltzoff, A.N., & Marshall, P.J. (2019). Body representations as indexed by oscillatory EEG activities in the context of tactile novelty processing. Neuropsychologia, 132, 107-144. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107144
Saby, J. N., & Marshall, P. J. (2012). The utility of EEG band power analysis in the study of infancy and early childhood. Developmental Neuropsychology, 37, 253-273.
Marshall, P. J., & Fox, N. A. (2007). Electrophysiological measures in research on social and emotional development. In L. A. Schmidt & S. J. Segalowitz (Eds.). Developmental psychophysiology (p. 127-149). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Marshall, P. J., & Fox, N. A. (2007). The utility of infant EEG and ERP in studying emotional development. In M. de Haan (Ed.), Infant EEG and event-related potentials (p. 227-250). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Fox, N. A., Schmidt, L. A., Henderson, H. A., & Marshall, P. J. (2007). Developmental psychophysiology: Conceptual and methodological perspectives. In J. T. Cacioppo, L. G. Tassinary, & G. G. Berntson (Eds.), Handbook of psychophysiology (3rd ed., p. 453-481). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Marshall, P. J., Bar-Haim, Y., & Fox, N. A. (2002). Development of the EEG from 5 months to 4 years of age. Clinical Neurophysiology, 113, 1199-1208.