For many years, researchers believed that infants gradually learn to understand the world through experience and language.
New research from Trinity College Dublin challenges this view.
According to the researchers, infants’ brains show signs of organized thinking much earlier in life than previously believed.
As early as the child’s second month of life, patterns can be observed in the brain that are normally associated with later development.
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The brain’s response
The study was published in Nature Neuroscience and is based on brain scans of 130 infants, all of whom were two months old.
The infants were awake during the scans and were shown colorful images of, among other things, animals, toys, and everyday objects.
According to the researchers, brain activity was measured in an area that, in adults, is important for recognizing and distinguishing between different objects.
Using artificial intelligence, the patterns in the infants’ brains were analyzed and compared across different types of images.
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The study describes how the brain responded differently depending on what the infant was looking at.
The key point
Infants as young as two months old are already able to sort what they see into broad categories.
Lead author Cliona O'Doherty explains in connection with the study that the infants’ brains do not merely perceive images but also organize them in a meaningful way.
Research leader Rhodri Cusack also points out that the study is the largest of its kind to date involving awake infants.
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According to the researchers, the results may have implications for the understanding of early brain development and, in the longer term, contribute to improved early detection of developmental disorders.
Sources: Science Daily, and Nature Neuroscience.
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