Summary: Researchers from University College London and Birkbeck developed a wearable brain imaging device that uses light waves to study infant brain activity, revealing early social processing and offering insights into neurodevelopmental conditions like autism.
Key Takeaways
- Detailed Brain Activity Mapping: The wearable device provides a comprehensive view of infant brain functions like hearing, vision, and emotional processing, improving on previous technologies that could only focus on isolated areas.
- Early Social Processing: The technology revealed unexpected activity in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting that babies as young as five months may begin processing social interactions earlier than previously thought.
- Potential for Neurodevelopmental Insights: The device could help researchers understand typical and atypical brain development in early childhood, potentially offering insights into conditions like autism, dyslexia, and ADHD.
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A new technology using harmless light waves to measure brain activity in babies has provided the most detailed view of functions like hearing, vision, and cognitive processing outside traditional brain scanners. The study, led by researchers from University College London (UCL) and Birkbeck, was published in Imaging Neuroscience.
New Neurodevelopment Insights
The wearable brain imaging headgear, developed with UCL spin-out Gowerlabs, revealed unexpected activity in the prefrontal cortex, which processes emotions, in response to social stimuli. This suggests that babies as young as five months may begin processing social interactions early in life. This device can now measure neural activity across the entire outer surface of a baby’s brain, an improvement from earlier versions that could only focus on one or two areas at a time.
Researchers believe this technology could help map brain region connections and identify what distinguishes typical from atypical neurodevelopment in early childhood. It may also provide insights into neurodiverse conditions like autism, dyslexia, and ADHD.
Spots Overlooked Areas in Baby Brains
Liam Collins-Jones, PhD, the study’s first author from University College London Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering and the University of Cambridge, says, “Previously, we could only map activity in specific brain areas, making it difficult to get a complete picture. The new method allows us to see what’s happening across the entire outer brain surface, enabling us to spot interactions and detect activity in previously overlooked areas.”
Emily Jones, a professor from Birkbeck, University of London, adds, “This is the first time we’ve measured activity across such a wide area of the brain in babies using a wearable device, including areas involved in processing sound, vision, and emotions.”
Featured image: Mother Mererid and baby Mabli, who took part in the study. Credit: Liam Collins-Jones/UCL.
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A new technology using harmless light waves to measure brain activity in babies has provided the most detailed view of functions like hearing, vision, and cognitive processing outside traditional brain scanners. The study, led by researchers from University College London (UCL) and Birkbeck, was published in Imaging Neuroscience.
The wearable brain imaging headgear, developed with UCL spin-out Gowerlabs, revealed unexpected activity in the prefrontal cortex, which processes emotions, in response to social stimuli. This suggests that babies as young as five months may begin processing social interactions early in life.
This device can now measure neural activity across the entire outer surface of a baby’s brain, an improvement from earlier versions that could only focus on one or two areas at a time. Researchers believe this technology could help map brain region connections and identify what distinguishes typical from atypical neurodevelopment in early childhood. It may also provide insights into neurodiverse conditions like autism, dyslexia, and ADHD.
Liam Collins-Jones, PhD, the study’s first author from University College London Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering and the University of Cambridge, says, “Previously, we could only map activity in specific brain areas, making it difficult to get a complete picture. The new method allows us to see what’s happening across the entire outer brain surface, enabling us to spot interactions and detect activity in previously overlooked areas.”
Emily Jones, a professor from Birkbeck, University of London, adds, “This is the first time we’ve measured activity across such a wide area of the brain in babies using a wearable device, including areas involved in processing sound, vision, and emotions.”
