Welcome!We are a group of researchers interested in the development of infants in their first year of life. We study what infants are thinking and what they are learning.
By studying healthy infants, we aim to improve understanding of brain development during the first year and to improve diagnoses and therapies for infants who have a difficult start in life. |
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Infant Brain and MindOur goal is to understand how the foundations of cognition are built over the course of the first year of life. To do this, we use MRI or a new method, OPM-MEG, to see how the infant's brain processes what they see as they watch videos or look at pictures.
This research will help us know ourselves and our children, and help us understand how the development of brain functions goes awry following perinatal brain injury. See recent work from the lab in the news, from Ireland to Korea! |
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Visualizing how artificial neural networks represent objects (distil.pub, the activation atlas)
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Deep Learning as a Model of Infant DevelopmentIt is hard to imagine what an infant's mind is actually like, and the power of neuroscience methods such as MRI can only tell us so much. Therefore, our approach is to harness the benefit of using computational models for development. Deep learning, the technology underlying modern AI, has recently made strides in modelling the functions of the adult brain. We aim to test whether the mechanisms of learning in artificial neural networks can provide a testable model of how human infants learn.
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Neuroimaging MethodsWe have found magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to be a powerful way to study activity in the infant brain. However, it is sensitive to motion and the images are disrupted when infants move their heads. In our FREEZEMOTION project, funded by Research Ireland, we are using deep learning based tools to correct the errors introduced into brain images by head motion.
While MRI allows high resolution pictures of the brain, it is not good at seeing rapidly changing activity. This is important for how the brain functions, and so for the first time we will also measure brain activity in awake infants using a new technology, OPM-MEG. Read more about our research! See current vacancies. |
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Thank you to our funders
And to our partners
