The researchers found that when babies pay joint attention to an object, they use an area of the brain (left prefrontal cortex) that's involved in complex cognitive and social behaviors, United Press International reported.
Joint attention -- when two people share attention to the same object -- is an important social skill necessary for teaching, language learning and collaboration, the researchers explained. Impairment in joint attention is one of the earliest signs of autism.
The study appears in the journal Biology Letters.
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