We are exploring how babies realize that they can make things happen. This study involves home and lab visits.
Home Visit
Lab Visit
We are interested in what's going on in your baby's mind as it plays and engages in his/her normal activities at home. We will record your baby's brain activity and movements using special sensors on the baby's head/limbs and using a few cameras. Ideally, this visit will last at least an hour, but the visit will end when you decide.
We are studying how babies figure out that they can make a toy move. The infant pictured above could make a mobile spin by pulling a string connected to his right foot. This task takes about 15 minutes, and the visit lasts about an hour. We measure baby brain activity using a special cap, and we record baby movement in 3D using cameras and sensors.
Frequently Asked Questions
We measure baby brain waves using non-invasive technology called EEG. EEG involves placing small sensors on your baby’s head at specific sites using a special cap. Getting clear signals requires applying a small amount of gel to the scalp. The gel we use is safe for use with infants. EEG is a safe procedure for listening in on what the brain is doing - similar to EKG for measuring heart beats.
We use two systems to measure baby movement. One set of sensors are called IMUs. IMUs are great for home visits since they are ultra-portable. However, IMUs are not quite as accurate as our second movement measurement system called Vicon. Vicon uses 8 specialized infrared cameras to track shiny spherical markers which can be attached to different places on the baby's body. Both IMU sensors and Vicon's reflective markers are small and lightweight.
Yes! When you schedule a home and/or lab visit, you will have an opportunity to inspect all our equipment before we put anything on your baby. It is important to us that you and your baby feel comfortable and safe.
No. When you schedule a visit, you are in control of what happens to your baby. If at any point you decide you want to stop the study, we will stop immediately.
No. You can participate in a home visit, a lab visit or both.
Video recordings help us keep track of how brain signals and motion data are related to real-world activity. You are in control of whether we use images and video privately on secured computers for data analysis or whether we also use images/videos of your baby for professional presentations and publications. We never share images of babies without parents' permission.
