Dr Thierry Chaminade (Principal Investigator)

My main scholarly interest pertains to the evolutionary origins of the uniqueness
of human mind. In practice, combine different research techniques using the
experimental method, from biochemistry to neurophysiology, are combined to tools
from human sciences, from psychology to anthropology, in order to develop an
account of human cognition.
One core hypothesis is that the origin of this uniqueness lies in our social
abilities, in our understanding of and interaction with other minds. My
neurophysiological experiments all aim to understand the neural substrates of these
social abilities using interactions of humans with other agents, not only human but
also artificial.
As a matter of fact, I believe the adaptation of human social functions can,
especially today, be investigated in response to the emergence of such new artificial
agents, such as computer-animated avatars or humanoid and android robots.
Humans of the current generation still lack pre-existing concepts about the nature
and behaviour of these artefacts, and must therefore adapt their social skills to new
types of behaviours. In the longer term, these artificial agents hold the promise of
being used in therapies, for instance in helping shaping social behaviours of children
with autism, but understanding their perception today will help developing better
usage tomorrow.