Current Studies
The participants in our studies consist of parent and child volunteers who graciously offer their time and assistance. If you choose to participate, private visits to our lab will be scheduled at times that are convenient for you. Our researchers are committed to making your visit a pleasant and fun learning experience!
We invite you to look around our website. If you have a baby under 4 months of age and are interested in participating in one of our studies, feel free to contact us by phone or email or complete our convenient online form and will will contact you. We look forward to hearing from you!
Auditory Brainstem Processing to Support Language
EEG/ERP, cABR, Eye-tracker, and Behavioral Measures
*ACTIVELY RECRUITING*
Participants: typically developing 4-month-olds in good health
How does the auditory system develop over the first year of life, and how do early experiences shape the brain?
The purpose of this study is to investigate how early exposure to sounds can shape the brain and support development. Through safe and child-friendly tasks, including neural recordings known as auditory brainstem responses and electroencephalography (EEG), this study examines how small, subtle changes in sounds are recognized by the infant brain and how this contributes to building a strong foundation as language is learned.
Optimizing Information Processing in Infants Who Have a Relative with Language Impairment, Dyslexia, ASD, or ADHD
EEG/ERP, Eye-tracker, and Behavioral Measures
*ACTIVELY RECRUITING*
Participants: infants 4 to 18 months with a parent or sibling diagnosed with a speech/language disorder, reading disorder, autism spectrum disorder, or attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder
Does auditory training during the first year help infants become more efficient at processing the sounds most important for speech and language development?
Previous research in our lab shows that infants with a family history of language-based learning problems often process sounds differently from those without, placing them at higher risk of language-learning deficits. A longitudinal study at our lab, however, demonstrated that early auditory training positively impacted the accuracy and speed of discrimination of acoustic cues critical for language development. We are studying how this early listening experience might support and enhance acoustic processing for infants at higher risk, thus optimizing later language outcomes.
Dynamics of rapid auditory and visual processing: Relationships To infant language developmentEEG/ERP, Eye-tracker, and Behavioral Measures
*RECRUITMENT COMPLETE*
Participants: 6-month-olds
(data analysis in process)
How do the auditory and visual systems develop over the first year of life, and how do sensory processing skills contribute to language learning?
This study investigates developmental changes in the processing of auditory and visual information and the contribution of these skills to language and cognition in typically developing infants. It examines how infants detect small, rapid changes in sounds and images and whether their brains use similar processing strategies for both. Combining electroencephalography (EEG), eye-tracker, and behavioral techniques, we hope to characterize how the auditory and visual systems work together to support language learning.
Will interactive acoustic experience optimize rapid auditory processing and prelinguistic acoustic mapping critical to later language in infants at familial risk for autism?
EEG/ERP, Eye-tracker, and Behavioral Measures
*RECRUITMENT COMPLETE*
(data analysis in process)
Participants: 4-month-old siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
Why are language abilities often affected in ASD, and how can we strengthen early precursors of language acquisition to improve language abilities in infants at familial risk for ASD?
Significant increases in ASD have been reported in the US with an especially large increase in diagnoses in New Jersey. Due to high heritability, about 20% of younger siblings of children diagnosed with ASD will also develop the condition, and about a third of those not diagnosed with ASD will have language delays. Language deficits frequently accompany ASD, with many children showing language delays as early as 12 months. The long-term objective of this research is to support early language development in children at familial risk for ASD to improve later language outcomes.
One important step is understanding why language abilities are affected in ASD. During typical development, the infant brain actively constructs a precise representation or “map” of the native language. These critical acoustic maps allow a child to process incoming language sounds quickly and efficiently. To create accurate maps, infants must discriminate fast, successive changes in auditory sounds that occur in fractions of milliseconds. That language issues emerge very early in infants at familial risk for ASD may suggest these problems are related to poorer processing of fast auditory information and/or inadequate establishment of acoustic maps.
The Infancy Studies Laboratory has developed a 6-week acoustic training protocol that supports prelinguistic mapping to enhance infant auditory processing speed and attention. Starting at age 4 months, infants engage in this interactive, baby-friendly game that encourages them to discriminate between sounds that become increasingly faster and more complex. The training protocol has proved successful in improving acoustic mapping and processing speed in typically developing infants. This intervention offers the promise of ameliorating or perhaps even preventing the disrupted language acquisition seen in ASD.
Spontaneous Sleep in Infants
EEG/ERP and Behavioral Measures
*RECRUITMENT COMPLETE*
(data analysis in process)
Participants: 3 - 9 month olds
What happens in your child’s brain during sleep? How is it different from what happens in the adult brain? How do these brain waves mature over time?
The purpose of this study is to measure infant brain wave patterns during natural sleep (nap time) using electroencephalogram (EEG) at ages 3.5 and 6.5 months. We aim to characterize the brain waves occurring in infants during natural sleep, examine how areas of the brain communicate with one another, and determine if the brainwave patterns identified are associated with behavioral measures, such as temperament, motor, and early cognitive skills.
Complex Auditory Brainstem Processing in Early Development
cABR and Behavioral Measures
*RECRUITMENT COMPLETE*
(data analysis in process)
Participants: 3 - 24 month olds
How do the brain’s peripheral auditory processing networks develop during infancy, and how are they related to emerging language skills?
The purpose of this study is to help us characterize the developmental trajectory of brainstem responses to speech and speech-in-noise over the first two years of life by measuring auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) via several electrodes placed on the scalp as an earpiece provides auditory stimuli. From this study we hope to delineate the relevance of brainstem measures to emerging speech and language behaviors.
Dynamic Brain Development: A Resting-State fMRI Study
MRI combined with EEG/ERP and Behavioral Measures
*RECRUITMENT COMPLETE*
(data analysis in process)
Participants: 6 month olds
How can experiences change brain functions and emerging behaviors in infants? Experience-induced plasticity is a key to successful learning during development.
This project aims to delineate the effect of short-term auditory exposure on functional brain networks, particularly those involved in auditory processing, in infants. We combine naturally sleeping MRI with EEG/ERP and behavioral measures. This approach allows us to deepen our understanding of the development of brain-behavior relationships in infants.