Insights from awake infant fMRI on the development of vision and language

Infants undergo rapid, transformative change, such that by the end of their second year of life, they can walk, talk, play, and prank. Yet, research using fMRI with awake infants has shown, across many types of tasks, that brain functions are found in similar regions in infants and adults. This similarity of localization suggests that infant brain function is remarkably mature. In this talk, I present two new research directions in my lab to argue that this conclusion is premature. First, we found that dense, longitudinal neuroimaging reveals massive functional change in vision and language. Second, we found that even when function is localized similarly in infants and adults, the underlying algorithms supporting that function can differ. Together, these findings illustrate how neuroscience can provide insights into cognitive development.

Speaker: Cameron Ellis, Stanford University