For the first time, researchers have studied the interactions between the brains of children and adults while they play together.
What happens when a baby and an adult play together? According to a study by the American University of Princeton, their brains synchronize. In Psychological Science, the researchers show that an adult and a baby who interact are on the same wavelength: their brain activity is concentrated in the same areas.
Have you ever played with a baby and felt a sense of connection, even though they couldn’t yet talk to you?#PrincetonU research suggests that you might quite literally be “on the same wavelength,” experiencing similar brain activity in the same regions. https://t.co/UmZXIpGhxR
— Princeton University (@Princeton) January 10, 2020
An infrared cap to analyze brain activity
“Previous studies have shown that adult brains synchronize when watching movies or listening to stories, but we know very little about the development of this neural synchronization in the first years of life,” says Elise Piazza. , director of the study. Researchers have developed an infrared cap, capable of producing images of the brain. Brain oxygenation is the marker used to determine the presence of neuronal activity.
Synchronization of brain activity
Forty-two children participated in the study: an adult played with them, sang songs or read stories. Twenty-one babies were excluded from the research because they fidgeted too much, three refused to wear the infrared cap. In the end, 18 children, aged 9 to 15 months, remained in the study sample. Analysis of brain activity has shown that during face-to-face interactions, the brains of adults and babies are perfectly synchronized. The areas concerned are those associated with the understanding of the environment as well as the prefrontal cortex, involved in learning. The latter was until now considered to be underdeveloped in babies. When the adult and the baby were separated, this synchronization disappeared.
Mutual influence of brains
“The adult brain seems to predict when the child will smile, and the infant brain anticipates the moments when the adult will talk like a baby, the two brains follow eye contact and attention to toys, explains the author of the study. When a baby and an adult play together, their brains dynamically influence each other.” For the researchers, these findings could help medical staff better adapt to the children with whom they interact.
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