Join Birkbeck’s Babylab to delve into the secret life of babies
Birkbeck’s Babylab will offer a glimpse into the secret world of babies at an event with the Guardian on Wednesday, 10 June
A team from Birkbeck’s Babylab will be offering a glimpse into the secret world of babies at an event with the Guardian on Wednesday, 10 June.
Held at the Guardian’s offices in King’s Place near London’s St. Pancras station, the event will see members of the Babylab’s team host an evening which aims to provide insight into the world from a baby’s perspective, as well as how studying the world of newborns can give profound insights into adult’s brains, including the root of diseases like dementia.
Dr Tim Smith and Irati Saez De Urabain from the Babylab – or the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, as it is officially known – will be on hand to enable audience members to experience how eye tracking can be used to examine how young infants see the world.
Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith and Dr. Esha Massand, also from Babylab, will also speak on how their studies on babies with Down syndrome can inform our understanding of Alzheimer's dementia in adults and potentially help devise interventions to lessen the rate of cognitive decline.
The event forms part of a pilot project with the Guardian, where Birkbeck academic staff are leading a range of public events to give an insight into the work of Birkbeck’s research community.
Held at the Guardian’s offices at King’s Place, London, the pilot is running this year in advance of a broader collaboration with the Guardian beginning in 2016 – Guardian Live – which will see the college participate in a partnership with several institutions around King’s Cross to run events, activities and courses in Guardian Space, the new ideas and discussion hub in the former Midland Goods Shed at the station.
The Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (CBCD) was founded at Birkbeck, University of London, in 1998 under the leadership of Professor Mark Johnson. It has grown steadily and is now internationally recognised as one of the leading centres of its kind.
It has utlised pioneering experimental techniques and research methods, such as eye tracking and baby electroencephalography (EEG), to provide scientists from the Babylab with ways to understand more about infantile brain development how this is related to changes in perceptual, cognitive, and linguistic abilities from birth through childhood.
The Secret Life of Babies event will be held at the Guardian’s offices, King’s Place, on Wednesday, June 10, from 7.30pm tp 8.45pm. Tickets are £17, or £12 to partners and patrons. To book a place on the event, visit the Guardian event page.
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