Thursday, 03 February 2022
Volunteers are needed for a new study to investigate how babies respond to, learn to interact with, and eventually ‘fall into sync’ with their mothers.
Project NeuroSync is a new research project in the Infant and Toddler Lab in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham and will use experimental games, brain scanning equipment, head-mounted cameras and questionnaires to understand how babies ‘fall into sync’ with their mothers.
Dr Sobana Wijeakumar, the research lead of the study said: “The first three years of life are critical – children start to develop important cognitive functions and learn how to communicate with the world around them. These functions first start to develop through interactions children have with their parents. We are interested in how these interactions form and develop in the brain. Specifically, we want to understand how mothers’ brains synchronizes with their babies’ brains when they interact with each other over the first few years of life and how this synchrony influences their baby’s cognitive functions in later life.”
The research visits will involve a range of non-invasive techniques to build a comprehensive picture of how interactions between mum and baby develop over three years and involve between 2-4 visits to the lab each year. During each visit, researchers will take video recordings of interactions and use sensor caps to measure brain activity of mums and babies in a safe manner. While wearing these caps, babies and mums will be shown objects on a TV – for instance, coloured shapes, and researchers will monitor how and where mum and baby examine the TV. The team will also measure brain activity while mum and baby play together. To understand the mum’s perspectives of their baby’s cognitive development, they will also be asked to fill in questionnaires based on their own observations.
Babies need to be between 6 and 9 months of age or will turn 6 or 9 months of age at the time of being involved in the study toparticipate and families taking part will be paid £10 per visit as a ‘thank you’.
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More information is available from Jane Icke, Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Science at the University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 951 5751 or jane.icke@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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