There has been a revolution in our understanding of children’s minds, brains, and learning capacities. We now recognize that young children know, feel, and learn more than we ever imagined. In laboratories at I-LABS and around the world, children’s natural curiosity and drive to learn is being uncovered in basic research studies. Just as basic research in genetic mechanisms lead to the Genome Project, discoveries about the developing mind set the stage for a new science of learning - requiring new policies and programs. Combining interdisciplinary and cross cultural approaches, I-LABS scientists are on the forefront of these basic discoveries.
I-LABS is now home to a one-ton machine that can safely read the mind of a seven-pound baby, yielding important clues into how, where and when human learning happens. The exquisitely sensitive MEG brain imaging device can map the mental activity of an infant only a few days old and proves that newborn brains are anything but empty.
By combining state-of-the-art brain-imaging technology and behavioral measures, I-LABS laboratories are helping to shape tomorrow’s guidelines for early learning, both prior to school and in school, as they explore the influence of biology and culture on child development.
