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.