• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.69-87
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• 2024

This study investigated whether joint attention response behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) change in response to musical cues and reinforcing stimulus, and compared them with neurotypically developing (NT) children. The participants included 13 children with ASD and 14 NT children aged between 3 to 5 years. The study established six task conditions, involving cues (verbal vs. musical) for responding to joint attention (RJA) behaviors and reinforcing stimulus (verbal vs. sound vs. musical) for social referencing behaviors. These tasks were presented 12 times with two repetitions each. The results of the study showed that providing musical cues during the RJA phase increased levels of RJA in children with ASD, consistent with prior studies. Subsequently, musical reinforcing stimuli increased the frequency of social referencing behaviors in these children. This indicates that musical stimuli can extend beyond mere sensory cues, helping individuals to understand and respond to social and emotional cues from others. Moreover, these musical stimuli could serve as effective social reinforcement factors for this population.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.21-37
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• 2014

The significant role of joint attention in the development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has highlighted the importance of early intervention. With the emphasis on the effective cueing and reinforcer for orienting to social stimuli in improving responding to joint attention (RJA) of children with ASD, the use of musical cue was hypothesized. This study aimed to examine the occurrence of RJA behaviors depending on the attentional cue, which differed in the level of information and type of auditory modality. Nine children with ASD participated in this study. The use of eight different joint attention cues were analyzed in terms of the frequency and accuracy of RJA behaviors elicited. The results of the study showed that RJA behaviors occurred more frequently with musical cues than with verbal cues and the mean accuracy rate of RJA was higher with musical cues (p = .047). Musically delivered eliciting and directing cues accompanied with pointing elicited the highest attentional shift and RJA accuracy. The significant increases in RJA with the use of musical cues indicated that incorporating musical elements into an attentional cue may provide more accurate cue information, enough to improve RJA behaviors of children with autism.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1427-1434
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• 2021

In this paper, we propose a psychological state estimation process that computes children's attention and tension in response to training stimuli. Joint attention was adopted as the training stimulus required for behavioral intervention, and the Discrete trial training (DTT) technique was applied as the training protocol. Three types of training stimulation contents are composed to check the user's attention and tension level and provided mounted on a character-shaped tabletop robot. Then, the gaze response to the user's training stimulus is estimated with the vision-based head pose recognition and geometrical calculation model, and the nervous system response is analyzed using the PPG and GSR bio-signals using heart rate variability(HRV) and histogram techniques. Through experiments using robots, it was confirmed that the psychological response of users to training contents on joint attention could be quantified.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.19-43
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• 2017

This study aimed to examine the effects of a reciprocal attention intervention on the joint attention behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by comparing the music and nonmusic conditions. An alternating treatment design was applied as one of the single subject designs and the reciprocal attention intervention included music and nonmusic conditions implemented alternately within a session. The participants were four children between the ages 4 and 5 years and each participant who participated in 23 intervention sessions that followed the sequence of baseline (3 sessions), treatment (15 sessions), and follow-up (5 sessions). The music condition consisted of structured joint instrument playing, trials for attentional shift, and interactive instrument playing. The nonmusic condition consisted of joint toy play, trials for attentional shift, and turn taking-based play. The occurrence of target behaviors (i. e., joint attention behavior, eye gaze, and joint action) was analyzed across sessions. At pretest and posttest, the Early Social Communication Scale was administered. All participants showed increasing tendency in all target behaviors, but such occurrence was greater in the music condition than in the nonmusic condition. The findings support the use of a reciprocal attention intervention with musical stimuli to effectively improve joint attention in this population.

• Korean Journal of Child Education & Care
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-28
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• 2017

This is a case study on how infants' behaviors change after their child care teachers use Responsive Interactions to them. The participants are five infants and five child care teachers from five employer-supported child care centers run and managed by H foundation. This study analyzes the changes in infants' pivotal developmental behaviors based on interactions between an infant and a child care teacher in video recordings, anecdotal records, Reflective Journal written by the teachers, and data on in-depth interviews with the child care teachers. The results show that Responsive Interactions have brought positive changes to infants' pivotal developmental behaviors(Attention to Activity, Problem Solving Persistence, Involvement, Cooperation, Initiation, Joint Attention and Affect). It suggests that child care teachers who are in charge of taking care of infants should realize and practice the importance of Responsive Interaction Strategy in order to help the infants develop their pivotal behaviors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.147-149
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• 2022

This paper proposes a state machine design methodology in which an interactive robot that mimics discrete trial training (DTT protocol) can support social interaction training for children with autism. The robot applied to social interaction training uses the response to the provided training stimulus as a quantitative indicator by processing the data received from the sensors measuring the behavioral response of the child. In this process, the state machine is used as information that classifies the state of the acquired data and provides the subsequent stimulus for DTT protocol. Through the joint attentional training, it can be used as evidence-based treatment information by quantitatively classifying the data on the number of sustainable and DTT protocol and the child's response, as well as the current reaction status of the child to the observer performing remote monitoring. At the same time, it was confirmed that it is possible to properly respond to misrecognition situations.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.75-97
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive-motor interaction-based instrument playing on the early social skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Nine children with ASD, averaging 5.6 years of age, participated in twelve individual sessions lasting 30 minutes each. The intervention comprised five stages: self-regulation, motivation to engage in social interaction, acceptance of a partner in co-playing activities, interpersonal coordination with a partner, and engagement in joint music playing. To evaluate changes in early social skills, joint attention and social interaction behaviors were observed, and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) was administered pre- and post-intervention. Social synchronization was measured through a dyadic drum task, measuring synchronization accuracy, duration, and timing. Following the intervention, all nine children demonstrated increased early social behaviors, although there were no significant differences in SRS scores. Moreover, synchronized movement improved significantly in accuracy and maintained duration but not in reaction time. This study highlights the significance of recognizing the cognitive-motor interplay as crucial element in facilitating early social skills development in children with ASD.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.37-54
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• 2010

The information system that preserves and presents information collections, records, processes, retrievals, is applied in various fields recently and is supporting man's many activities. Conventional information systems are based on the reactive interaction model. Such reactive systems respond to only specific instructions, i.e. the defined commands, from the user. To go beyond the reactive interaction, it is necessary that the interactive dynamic interaction based information system which understands human's action and intention autonomously and then provides sensible information adapted to the user. Therefore, we propose a Gaze Mirroring-based intelligent information system for making user's latent interest using the internal state estimation methods based on the interactive dynamic interaction. Then, the proposed Gaze Mirroring method is that an anthropomorphic agent(avatar) actively established the joint attention with the user by imitating user's eye-gaze behavior. We verify that the Gaze Mirroring can elicit the user's behavior reflecting the latent interestand contribute to improving the accuracy of interest estimation. We also have confidence that the Gaze Mirroring promotes the self-awareness of interest. Such a Gaze Mirroring-based intelligent information system also provides suitable information to user by making user's latent interest using the internal state estimation.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.153-160
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• 1999

Animal models can provide a useful tool for the study of some aspects of psychiatric disorders and their treatment. The four criteria for the evaluation of animal models of psychiatric disorders are as following : 1) similarity of inducing conditions 2) similarity of behavioral state 3) common underlying neurobiological mechanisms 4) reversal by clinically effective treatment techniques. Several animal models have been proposed for schizophrenia : phenylethylamine model, L-dopa model, hallucinogen model, cocaine model, amphetamine model, phencyclidine model, noradrenergic reward system lesion model, reticular stimulation model, social isolation model, conditioned avoidance reaction, catalepsy test, paw test, self-stimulation paradigms, latent inhibition paradigms, blocking paradigms, prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex, rodent interaction, social behavior in monkeys, hippocampal damage, high ambient pressure, and models using selective breeding. Among them, animals with bilateral lesion of the hippocampus may provide an adequate animal model for several symptoms of schizophrenia, and ketamine model can reproduce negative symptoms and cognitive deficits as well as positive symptoms of schizophrenia. In conclusion, no model of schizophrenia is entirely representative of the disease, and findings gleaned from model systems must be cautiously interpreted. Furthermore, the process of developing and validating animal models must work in concert with the process to identify reliable measures of human phenomenology.