From birth, babies begin to develop astonishing abilities to perceive and interact with their environment and those around them, through their senses (vision, hearing, touch) and their movements. All these changes are linked to the very rapid development of the baby’s brain in the first few months of life.
This study, in collaboration with the inDev team at the NeuroSpin centre (Plateau de Saclay), aims to gain a better understanding of :
1) how the baby’s brain perceives and represents different parts of its body.
2) how sensory experiences in the first few months of a baby’s life can promote its development.
In order to answer these questions, this project includes 4 assessments at 1, 3, 6 and 9 months. For the first two visits, we are carrying out both a neuroimaging study combined with gentle tactile stimulation and behavioural assessments (tests of motor skills). Then at 6 and 9 months we only carry out an evaluation of sensorimotor acquisition.
Project team lead
Jessica Dubois
Project supported by
