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Taka Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

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REM sleep may be concerned with developing programs in the infant brain that are concerned with survival, like bonding with the mother, exploration, play, feeding and so on.

About the part in red, what are those examples presented for? 'Survival'?
  

Top answer

It's hard to say what the writer intended. I would certainly agree that having a connection to its mother is necessary for an infant's survival, and so is feeding, but is exploration and play? But if the writer intended that only "bonding with the mother" be the example for survival, he or she certainly chose an odd way to punctuate.

— BarbaraPA

  • It's hard to say what the writer intended.
  • I would certainly agree that having a connection to its mother is necessary for an infant's survival, and so is feeding, but is exploration and play?
  • But if the writer intended that only "bonding with the mother" be the example for survival, he or she certainly chose an odd way to punctuate.
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5 Answers
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It's hard to say what the writer intended.

I would certainly agree that having a connection to its mother is necessary for an infant's survival, and so is feeding, but is exploration and play? But if the writer intended that only "bonding with the mother" be the example for survival, he or she certainly chose an odd way to punctuate.
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Grammar GeekI would certainly agree that having a connection to its mother is necessary for an infant's survival, and so is feeding, but is exploration and play?
Isn't it that exploration and play are the things through which they learn to live in this world (i.e, survival)?

Another way of understanding is to take those as the examples of 'prog
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... concerned with ... programs ... like X, Y, Z, and so on.

(a bonding program, an exploration program, a play program, a feeding program, etc.)

CJ
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Let me pick up this old post again. About this part:
developing programs in the infant brain
Is it:
(1) developing in the infant brain (i.e. 'in the infant brain' modifies 'developing')
(2) programs in the infant brain (i.e. 'in the infant brain' modifies 'programs')
?
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I think it's inherently ambiguous. There's no way to decide. It could be either one.
CJ
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