Body as First Teacher: The Role of Rhythmic Visceral Dynamics in Early Cognitive Development.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science January 1, 2025 Andrew W Corcoran, Kelsey Perrykkad, Daniel Feuerriegel et al. 19 citations
Predictive processing theories, especially active inference, have been proposed as a way to reconcile embodied and traditional cognitive science. This analysis argues that most active-inference accounts rely on weak or trivial conceptions of embodiment, while stronger claims do not follow from the framework itself. A more compelling version of embodied active inference is motivated by taking a diachronic view of how rhythmic physiological activity shapes neural development before birth. The visceral afferent training hypothesis proposes that early-emerging physiological processes, particularly from the cardiovascular system, are essential for configuring cognitive architecture. Three candidate mechanisms are suggested: activity-dependent neuronal development, periodic signal modeling, and oscillatory network coordination.