I-LABS researchers Andrea Stocco and Chantel Prat show that the brain’s basal ganglia may be a key player for bilinguals’ improved executive function. One of the recent neuroscience puzzles has been that people who are bilingual outperform monolinguals on cognitive tasks that have nothing to do with language. But it hasn’t been clear what happens in the brain to enable … Read More
What Makes Children Do Their Best?
The Seattle Times profiles Onnie Rogers, a postdoc at I-LABS. I-LABS postdoctoral fellow Leoandra “Onnie” Rogers is the first in her family to attend college, has a doctorate in developmental psychology, and will soon be inducted into UCLA’s Athletics Hall of Fame. Rogers works with I-LABS co-director Andrew Meltzoff. She’s interested in identity development among youth, and her research examines children’s … Read More
I-LABS Co-Directors Meet with Swedish Crown Princess
Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl visited with the Crown Princess of Sweden, who has a baby girl. They talked about early learning and the brain. The meeting took place September 23 at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. While in Stockholm, Kuhl gave a lecture, “Early Learning and the Developing Child’s Brain,” at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and will receive an honorary doctorate … Read More
King County Announces ‘Best Starts for Kids’ Initiative
Dow Constantine, King County Executive, will develop a levy proposal for early childhood and other youth services. Constantine said he will work with community partners and other advisers to develop an initiative “Best Starts for Kids,” which he announced Sept. 22 as part of his budget plan for 2015 and 2016. The initiative’s website cites social, health and economic research findings from … Read More
Lessons on Learning From Inside Children’s Brains
The Seattle Times talks with I-LABS co-director Patricia Kuhl and other UW researchers who are studying brain development and literacy skills in children. The front page of the Monday, Sept. 22 Seattle Times features a story on UW research on what happens in the brain as children learn to speak, listen, read and write. The story is part of an education series … Read More
Visiting Expert in Infant Neuroscience and Social Development
Peter Marshall of Temple University will be studying how infants’ awareness of their own bodies serves as a building block for social interactions. Most infants’ lives are infused with love. Their families dote on them, providing ample amounts of food, cuddles and coos, all helping to establish attachment between caregivers and newborns. “These early caregiving bonds are the start to … Read More
Online Tutorial, ‘Understanding Emotions,’ Now Available
I-LABS’s latest free, online tool explains the science behind children’s social-emotional development. A toddler may fall down, and then look to see if her parent is upset before deciding whether to cry. Or a child watching someone else receive a scolding may change his own behavior to avoid a similar reprimand. These examples give real-world glimpses into children’s social-emotional development, … Read More
Q&A with Patricia Kuhl on her Inaugural Article in PNAS
In a Q&A with the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, I-LABS’ Patricia Kuhl talks about how babies fine tune their speech perception. The Q&A, tied to Kuhl’s research paper published by PNAS in July, touches on how infants learn to distinguish between languages, evidence for the “analysis by synthesis” theory, and the importance of using “motherese” when reading to infants.
Learning by Watching, Toddlers Show Intuitive Understanding of Probability
I-LABS’ Anna Waismeyer and Andrew Meltzoff report that 24-month-olds can make sense of imperfect cause-and-effect relationships. The latest research from I-LABS shows that toddlers as young as 24-months-old intuitively understand probability in a cause-and-effect game in which the children had to choose which strategy was more likely to work. I-LABS’ Waismeyer and Andrew Meltzoff and co-author Alison Gopnik at the … Read More
I-LABS’ Lindsay Klarman Takes Executive Director Job at Seattle Non-Profit
Klarman arrived at the University of Washington in 2001. A native of San Diego, she had just finished her bachelor’s in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego and was moving to UW for graduate school. Newly-wedded, Klarman and her husband drove a U-Haul up to Seattle, moved into a 500-square foot apartment in Wallingford, and soon after … Read More