Babies’ Brain Responses to Touch Reveal Body Map

I-LABSPopular Articles, Publication, Research

See an adorable baby and it can be hard to resist reaching out for a cuddle. The sense of touch is the earliest form of communication between babies and their caregivers. It’s one way we say “I love you” long before infants understand language. Now scientists at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) and Temple … Read More

Do Female Teachers Help Girls Overcome STEM Stereotypes?

I-LABSMedia Coverage, Popular Articles, Publication, Research

To get more girls into tech careers we need to counteract negative stereotypes about the field, UW and I-LABS research shows. Women make up only about 20 percent of the recipients of bachelor’s degrees in computer science, creating a large gender disparity. This gap has received ample attention for its causes and what can be done about it. “Women are missing out … Read More

Infant, Control Thyself

I-LABSMedia Coverage, Popular Articles, Publication, Research

The latest I-LABS research shows that toddlers who watch an argument use that emotional information to avoid making adults angry. The study, led by I-LABS’ Betty Repacholi and Andrew Meltzoff, shows that children as young as 15 months can detect anger when watching other people’s social interactions and then use that emotional information to guide their own behavior. “Through studying … Read More

New Research: While in womb, babies begin learning language from their mothers

I-LABSMedia Coverage, Popular Articles, Research

Each time a newborn sucks on the pacifier, a computer delivers sound into the headphones. The sounds are computer-generated versions of vowels. Infants in both countries were tested with English and Swedish vowels. This newborn in Sweden is listening to an English vowel; after long pause in sucking, the vowel is changed. The number of sucking responses to each vowel … Read More