News
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OptiLab Research Featured in Nature Outlook Article
March 31, 2021 Check out this awesome new article in Nature Outlook from Liam Drew in which he breaks down the art and science of visual expertise needed for hitting a baseball. In the process he features OptiLab research and many choice quotes from Greg (see the end of the article for the best). |
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Contribute to new Research Topic on the Neuroscience of Expertise
December 1, 2020 Dr. Appelbaum and colleagues are co-editing a special topic collection in Frontiers entitled "Neural Mechanisms of Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise in Elite Performers". They are inviting submissions from now till April 30, 2021. Please feel free to submit an article to this exciting collection. |
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We have taken the Duke TMS Fellowship Virtual!
October 21, 2020 To adapt to restrictions on in-person gatherings we have moved our fellowship to a virtual format and the first attempt was a resounding success. Our next virtual fellowship will be in January 2021. Find out more here |
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Press Coverage on our Vision Training Article
July 27, 2020 Check out the nice write ups about our new vision training study in Duke Today and Futurity |
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Hear Greg on Rob Gray's Perception and Action Podcast
April 20, 2020
Greg was Rob's guest on the P&A podcast for a lively conversation about sports vision, assessments and training. They even got to discuss some brain stimulation too. Listen HERE
April 20, 2020
Greg was Rob's guest on the P&A podcast for a lively conversation about sports vision, assessments and training. They even got to discuss some brain stimulation too. Listen HERE
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Rhodes Information Initiative DATA+ Project
April 2, 2020 Beginning in the spring of 2020 OptiLab will be collaborating with the USA Baseball Player Development Program as part of the Duke Rhodes Information Initiative to determine if baseline measures of vision, speed and strength predict baseball performance in elite developmental players. Sign up to be part of the research team |
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Brain Stimulation to Improve Surgical Skill Learning
March 30, 2020 Check out the cool new findings published in Brain Stimulation from our pre-registered randomized and placebo-controlled trial testing if transcranial direct current stimulation could improve skill learning (Cox et al., in press, and press release from department of Surgery). We used the Fundamental of Laparoscopic Surgery as our training and testing modules and ... it worked... now need to replicate! |
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Read All About It! ... Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
February 29, 2020
We have done deep dives into the TMS literature to see how it is being used to change 'online' behavior (stimulation during tasks) and to determine how stimulation affects connections between brain areas. The results of this deep dive (so far), are a quantitative meta-analysis (Beynel et al 2019) and a systematic review (Beynel et al 2020). Read all about it in the links below.
February 29, 2020
We have done deep dives into the TMS literature to see how it is being used to change 'online' behavior (stimulation during tasks) and to determine how stimulation affects connections between brain areas. The results of this deep dive (so far), are a quantitative meta-analysis (Beynel et al 2019) and a systematic review (Beynel et al 2020). Read all about it in the links below.
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Podcast Alert... hear Greg discuss the Science of Sports Vision
October 22, 2019 Ever wonder about how neuroscience is being used to guide performance optimization in athletes? Well here is your chance to hear all about it... |
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Greg Interviewed in The Guardian
August 23, 2019 Full Disclosure here, Greg is a Steelers fan, but he still couldn't resist the opportunity to opine on the remarkable and timeless talents of Tom Brady for a new article in The Guardian. |
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New Grant Award from NIA!!!
June 15, 2019
Congrats to the OptiLab team and colleagues for receiving a new grant award from the National Institute of Aging to test our Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation approach to improve memory in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairments.
June 15, 2019
Congrats to the OptiLab team and colleagues for receiving a new grant award from the National Institute of Aging to test our Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation approach to improve memory in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairments.
Press on our new baseball study with Duke and IU baseball
May 23, 2019
There is excitement surrounding our new sports vision training study done with the Duke and Indiana University baseball teams. Check out some of the coverage from the SF Chronicle and Invision Magazine
May 23, 2019
There is excitement surrounding our new sports vision training study done with the Duke and Indiana University baseball teams. Check out some of the coverage from the SF Chronicle and Invision Magazine
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Neuroscience News coverage of our rTMS study
May 15, 2019 Read all about it! Dr. Beynel tells Neuroscience News about the findings from our rTMS working memory study. |
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Check us out on ESPN
Feb 15, 2019 OptiLab is making not one, but two appearances on the small screen. First, you can see footage of our screening session with the Duke basketball team on ESPN's Earn Everything. Also, stay tuned for our screening session with the Duke Mascot that will come out in March to coincide with the start of the NCAA tourney. Check in to see if the Mascot beats Zion... or even more impressively, if the mascot beats Susan (Go Susan!) |
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Congratulations to Edem Asamoa
Feb 15, 2019
Congrats to Edem for winning a 2019 Summer Neuroscience Program award. This award will fund his summer research which builds on our on-going studies testing visual-motor learning in athletes. In particular, he will be combining the Synchrony Light Rail with EEG to develop brain-based biomarkers of anticipatory timing (that will hopefully be used one day to scout professional baseball players).
Feb 15, 2019
Congrats to Edem for winning a 2019 Summer Neuroscience Program award. This award will fund his summer research which builds on our on-going studies testing visual-motor learning in athletes. In particular, he will be combining the Synchrony Light Rail with EEG to develop brain-based biomarkers of anticipatory timing (that will hopefully be used one day to scout professional baseball players).
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The International Sports Vision Association 2019 Annual Conference
Feb 8, 2019 Congratulations to Greg for being a featured speaker at ISVA 2019! He provided a research perspective to clinicians and coaches keen to make moves in the realm of sports vision training, and definitely captured their attention. We look forward to working with our new friends and collaborators! |
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Not one... but TWO undergraduate research travel awards!
Jan 31, 2019
Wow, Joyce received not one, but two different undergraduate travel awards! Hopefully she has a frequent flyer account because she will be going to California twice; once to the Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting for her Duke Psychology and Neuroscience travel award, and once to the Stanford Undergraduate Research Conference where she also got a travel award. Congratulations Joyce!
Jan 31, 2019
Wow, Joyce received not one, but two different undergraduate travel awards! Hopefully she has a frequent flyer account because she will be going to California twice; once to the Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting for her Duke Psychology and Neuroscience travel award, and once to the Stanford Undergraduate Research Conference where she also got a travel award. Congratulations Joyce!
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Inaugural DIBS Germinator Awarded to Lysianne Beynel
Oct 15, 2018 Congratulations to Lysianne, who received one of the inaugural awards for her proposal "Effect of Connectivity-based rTMS and State-Dependency on Amygdala Activation" |
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Duke Sports Vision Center has been Launched!
Sept 7, 2018. We had a great launch even for the new Sports Vision Center! Head football coach Cutcliff, Head baseball coach Pollard, and Assistant basketball coach Scheyer. See here for more |
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Kyle and Greg's paper has been selected as a finalist in the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics research paper competition
Congrats to Kyle and Greg... Good luck in the competition on Feb 23, 2018!!! |
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2017 BRAIN Initiative Grant
In August, the Opti Lab and collaborators received the BRAIN Initiative Grant to study dose-response functions of TMS. This is a multidisciplinary collaborative project with partners in Engineering, Psychology, Neurology, and Psychiatry. |
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Recognition at the 2017 Undergraduate Awards
Alex Brito was named a Global Winner in the category of Language and Linguistics for her research project on the "Effects of Language Immersion versus Classroom Exposure on Advanced French Learners: An ERP Study." This year's Undergraduate Awards Summit will be held in November in Dublin, Ireland. See an article about her award or read her thesis. |
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Congratulations to Elayna Kirsch!
Elayna has won a 2017 Summer Neuroscience Program award. Through this award she will continue working on her project testing sensorimotor learning in virtual reality. This exciting project fuses precision motor learning on a simulated marksmanship task, with EEG and Virtual Reality. |
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Welcome OPTI LAB!
The Perception, Performance and Psychophysiology Lab and the Noninvasive Neuromodulatory Neuroscience Lab have merged to form the Human Performance Optimization Laboratory... Opti Lab for short. |
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Duke Institute for Brain Science Award, 2016-17
Congrats to Meridith Addicott and the team for receiving a 2016-17 DIBS Incubator Award to evaluate if TMS can strengthen insult connectivity as a way to improve smoking cessation.
Congrats to Meridith Addicott and the team for receiving a 2016-17 DIBS Incubator Award to evaluate if TMS can strengthen insult connectivity as a way to improve smoking cessation.
6 big Congratulations and Fond Farewells
Man what a graduating class from the Opti Lab this year. Big congrats to graduates Annie Apple, Ben Ramger, Laura Holton, Yvonne Lu, Natasha Sakraney, and Garland Austin! 6 diplomas, in 3 departments, 4 honors theses, 13 independent study classes, and 33 total semesters in the Opti Lab . It has been fabulous having you as part of the lab and best of luck in the next stage of you lives!
Man what a graduating class from the Opti Lab this year. Big congrats to graduates Annie Apple, Ben Ramger, Laura Holton, Yvonne Lu, Natasha Sakraney, and Garland Austin! 6 diplomas, in 3 departments, 4 honors theses, 13 independent study classes, and 33 total semesters in the Opti Lab . It has been fabulous having you as part of the lab and best of luck in the next stage of you lives!
Congratulations to Kelly Vittetoe!
Kelly has won a 2016 Duke Neuroscience Program of Research award to continue her great work looking at the relationships between sensorimotor skills and athletic performance.
Kelly has won a 2016 Duke Neuroscience Program of Research award to continue her great work looking at the relationships between sensorimotor skills and athletic performance.
Welcome!!!
The Opti Lab would like to welcome our 3 newest members; Lysianne Beynel (postdoc), Susan Hilbig (study coordinator) and Joyce Wang (research assistant). We are so excited to have you as part of the team!
The Opti Lab would like to welcome our 3 newest members; Lysianne Beynel (postdoc), Susan Hilbig (study coordinator) and Joyce Wang (research assistant). We are so excited to have you as part of the team!
Ask a Scientist: Is March Madness good or bad for you?
The Raleigh News and Observer asked, so Greg felt compelled to answer. Click the link below to read the Q & A.
The Raleigh News and Observer asked, so Greg felt compelled to answer. Click the link below to read the Q & A.
Coming and Going.
The Opti Lab is excited to welcome 2 new independent study students, Garland Austin and Natasha Sakraney, for the 2015-2016 academic year! We also wish a great time and safe return to Kelly Vittetoe who will be on a study-abroad program for the fall semester.
The Opti Lab is excited to welcome 2 new independent study students, Garland Austin and Natasha Sakraney, for the 2015-2016 academic year! We also wish a great time and safe return to Kelly Vittetoe who will be on a study-abroad program for the fall semester.
Duke Institute for Brain Science Award
Greg Appelbaum and Missy Cummings have been awarded a DIBS Incubator Award for the 2014-2015 academic year to use EEG and fNIRS to monitor real-time cognitive workload. Read more about it HERE
Greg Appelbaum and Missy Cummings have been awarded a DIBS Incubator Award for the 2014-2015 academic year to use EEG and fNIRS to monitor real-time cognitive workload. Read more about it HERE
A big Congratulations and Fond Farewell!
Congratulations to our graduating seniors, Eliza Gentzler and Floyd Wilks, and to our lab manager Kristina Krasich who will be starting the Ph.D. program in Psychology at Notre Dame this fall. You will be missed!!!
Congratulations to our graduating seniors, Eliza Gentzler and Floyd Wilks, and to our lab manager Kristina Krasich who will be starting the Ph.D. program in Psychology at Notre Dame this fall. You will be missed!!!
See the recent Sports Illustrated coverage of Steve's new article.
The Opti Lab presents at the Science of Sports Event
On April 9, 2014 the Opti Lab presented at the "Science of Sports" event at the North Carolina Science Festival. Click here to see some pictures.
On April 9, 2014 the Opti Lab presented at the "Science of Sports" event at the North Carolina Science Festival. Click here to see some pictures.
See Steve's article "Using ‘Nonobvious’ Sports Training to Gain a Competitive Edge" in the Ideas Lab
The Opti Lab had 4 presentations at the Psychonomics Society Annual Meeting in November
Click HERE to see Steve's Keynote address at the OPAM satellite session held the day before Psychonomics
The Opti Lab presented at the NC Museum of Life and Sciences, Brains Event on 10/17/13
For the second time this year the Opti Lab had the privilege of being part of a NC Museum of Life and Science after hours event. There was a great turnout and we got to show off our research on Stroboscopic Visual Training.
Greg gave public lecture at the Carolina Science Cafe on 10/2/13
Video Game Playing and Visual Perception: Do Gamers See the World Differently?
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 6 p.m.
Dr. Greg Appelbaum
Opti Lab Welcomes Team of Undergraduate Research Assistants!
The Opti Lab is excited to welcome back 6 returning RAs and 2 new* RAs for the fall 2013 semester!
Eliza Gentzler (senior)
Floyd Wilks Jr. (senior)
Clara Colombatto (junior)
Annie Apple (sophomore)
Laura Holton (sophomore)
Yvonne Lu (sophmore*)
Ben Ramger (sophomore)
Gabriela Asturias (freshman*)
Eliza Gentzler (senior)
Floyd Wilks Jr. (senior)
Clara Colombatto (junior)
Annie Apple (sophomore)
Laura Holton (sophomore)
Yvonne Lu (sophmore*)
Ben Ramger (sophomore)
Gabriela Asturias (freshman*)
Media Coverage of Video Game Research
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Our recent Attention, Perception and Psychophysics article is getting quite a bit of press!
In this study we compared action gamers and non-gamers to see if these two groups differed in visual sensory memory (often called Iconic Memory). We found that although gamers don’t retain information for longer than non-gamers do, they do get more visual information from what they’re looking at and had overall better performance across the board. |
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Congratulations to our undergraduate Summer Research Fellows
Congratulations to Eliza Gentzler for winning a 2013 Summer Neuroscience Program of Research (NPR) award. Eliza’s proposal is to use EEG to study individual differences in attentional capacity and to relate these differences to other measures of visual perception, psychometrics, and genetics.
Congratulations are also in store for Clara Colombatto and her graduate student mentor Kait Clark for their 2013 Vertical Integration Program award. This prize will fund collaborative research between Clara and Kait to look at how Mindfulness relates to visual perception and action.
We are very excited to have received both of these award in the Opti Lab this summer!!!
Congratulations are also in store for Clara Colombatto and her graduate student mentor Kait Clark for their 2013 Vertical Integration Program award. This prize will fund collaborative research between Clara and Kait to look at how Mindfulness relates to visual perception and action.
We are very excited to have received both of these award in the Opti Lab this summer!!!
Sourcefed Satire on Youtube: Nike Glasses Enhance Memory!
We have been spoofed!!!
Check out this little bit on SourceFed. They seem to be cynical about our funding source. But don’t worry, the defense department is now footing the bill!!! To their credit though, they nailed the recount of our research. If this comedy thing doesn’t work out, they could clearly get jobs as professional science writers.
-- Kudos Lee and Joe!
Check out this little bit on SourceFed. They seem to be cynical about our funding source. But don’t worry, the defense department is now footing the bill!!! To their credit though, they nailed the recount of our research. If this comedy thing doesn’t work out, they could clearly get jobs as professional science writers.
-- Kudos Lee and Joe!
Second Strobe Training Study in Wall Street Journal: 'Stroboscopic' Memory Enhancement
by Christopher Shea
Playing catch while wearing special “stroboscopic” eyewear can improve short-term memory, according to a study by researchers at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences.
The eyewear turns a smooth flow of visual information into a series of discrete snapshots (think strobe lights on a dance floor). 100 milliseconds of clear vision alternates with opacity, with the length of the opaque period controllable by the user. The longer the opaque period — things don’t go completely dark but get very gray and hazy — the tougher it is to react to moving objects.
Most participants played catch with a bean-bag ball, for two sessions, but members of Duke soccer and basketball teams also took part in the experiment, doing drills related to those sports. Then, in a laboratory test, participants undertook a memory test that involved recalling which letters had appeared in certain spaces. Relative to a control group that had trained with clear eyewear, students who wore the special glasses performed better after training; this was true whether they headed straight into the lab after training or delayed 24 hours—which is significant because it shows that the memory enhancement was more than fleeting.
...Click HERE to read the rest of the story.
Playing catch while wearing special “stroboscopic” eyewear can improve short-term memory, according to a study by researchers at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences.
The eyewear turns a smooth flow of visual information into a series of discrete snapshots (think strobe lights on a dance floor). 100 milliseconds of clear vision alternates with opacity, with the length of the opaque period controllable by the user. The longer the opaque period — things don’t go completely dark but get very gray and hazy — the tougher it is to react to moving objects.
Most participants played catch with a bean-bag ball, for two sessions, but members of Duke soccer and basketball teams also took part in the experiment, doing drills related to those sports. Then, in a laboratory test, participants undertook a memory test that involved recalling which letters had appeared in certain spaces. Relative to a control group that had trained with clear eyewear, students who wore the special glasses performed better after training; this was true whether they headed straight into the lab after training or delayed 24 hours—which is significant because it shows that the memory enhancement was more than fleeting.
...Click HERE to read the rest of the story.
Greg Featured in ABC News: Conservatives and Liberals Have Different Brains, Studies Show
by Sydney Lupkin
Conservatives and liberals may have one less thing in common: neurology.
Procon.org has gathered 13 peer-reviewed studies of behavioral and neurological studies and come to the conclusion that differences between Republicans and Democrats are more than skin-deep.
“Basically, the different sides have been yelling at each other for millennia, and we’re trying to figure out what could be the root cause of this,” said Steven Markoff, ProCon.org’s founder.
...Click HERE to read the rest of the story
Conservatives and liberals may have one less thing in common: neurology.
Procon.org has gathered 13 peer-reviewed studies of behavioral and neurological studies and come to the conclusion that differences between Republicans and Democrats are more than skin-deep.
“Basically, the different sides have been yelling at each other for millennia, and we’re trying to figure out what could be the root cause of this,” said Steven Markoff, ProCon.org’s founder.
...Click HERE to read the rest of the story
Strobe Training Study Featured in Popular Science: Nike's New Strobing Glasses Enhance Athletes' Visual Acuity and Sensory Skills
by Clay Dillow
Nike has developed a means of increasing visual short-term memory retention and physical reaction time via a set of strobing goggles that rob athletes in training of some of their vision. The SPARQ Sensory Performance system evaluates an athlete for 10 visual performance skills and creates a training program specifically for him or her that involves wearing Nike’s SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear, which basically fog over to block the wearer’s vision for short periods of time, forcing the athlete to anticipate what’s coming next.
The idea is to fine-tune an athlete’s sensory perception, visual acuity, and the brain’s ability to maintain a precise sense of timing absent a constant stream of visual input. The regimen is backed up by Duke University research that shows that the SPARQ system can indeed heighten visual skills and improve athletes’ reaction times. The system is apparently already in beta with some professional and collegiate sports programs, and will see a worldwide rollout soon.
It’s tough to say at this point how much that improvement translates to the playing field, but Nike isn’t the only entity out there looking for ways to groom the brain into a better tool for physical activity. DARPA and the DoD are constantly on the lookout for technological tools that will help soldiers stay more alert, improve physical reaction times, increase eye-hand coordination, and sharpen decision-making skills on the fly--so the implications for this technology beyond athletic training are certainly real.
Nike has developed a means of increasing visual short-term memory retention and physical reaction time via a set of strobing goggles that rob athletes in training of some of their vision. The SPARQ Sensory Performance system evaluates an athlete for 10 visual performance skills and creates a training program specifically for him or her that involves wearing Nike’s SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear, which basically fog over to block the wearer’s vision for short periods of time, forcing the athlete to anticipate what’s coming next.
The idea is to fine-tune an athlete’s sensory perception, visual acuity, and the brain’s ability to maintain a precise sense of timing absent a constant stream of visual input. The regimen is backed up by Duke University research that shows that the SPARQ system can indeed heighten visual skills and improve athletes’ reaction times. The system is apparently already in beta with some professional and collegiate sports programs, and will see a worldwide rollout soon.
It’s tough to say at this point how much that improvement translates to the playing field, but Nike isn’t the only entity out there looking for ways to groom the brain into a better tool for physical activity. DARPA and the DoD are constantly on the lookout for technological tools that will help soldiers stay more alert, improve physical reaction times, increase eye-hand coordination, and sharpen decision-making skills on the fly--so the implications for this technology beyond athletic training are certainly real.
Strobe Study Featured in Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Spotlight: Strobe Eyewear Training Improves Visual Memory
By Julie Rhodes
Stroboscopic training, performing a physical activity while using eyewear that simulates a strobe-like experience, has been found to increase visual short-term memory retention, and the effects lasted 24 hours.
Participants in a Duke University study engaged in physical activities, such as playing catch, while using either specialized eyewear that limits vision to only brief snapshots or while using eyewear with clear lenses that provides uninterrupted vision. Participants completed a computer-based visual memory test before and after the physical activities. Research participants came from the Duke community. Many were recruited from University-organized sports teams, including varsity-level players. The study found that participants who trained with the strobe eyewear gained a boost in visual memory abilities.
...Click HERE to read the rest of the story.
Stroboscopic training, performing a physical activity while using eyewear that simulates a strobe-like experience, has been found to increase visual short-term memory retention, and the effects lasted 24 hours.
Participants in a Duke University study engaged in physical activities, such as playing catch, while using either specialized eyewear that limits vision to only brief snapshots or while using eyewear with clear lenses that provides uninterrupted vision. Participants completed a computer-based visual memory test before and after the physical activities. Research participants came from the Duke community. Many were recruited from University-organized sports teams, including varsity-level players. The study found that participants who trained with the strobe eyewear gained a boost in visual memory abilities.
...Click HERE to read the rest of the story.
Greg Featured in USA Today: Babies Try Lip-Reading in Learning to Talk
By Lauran Neergaard
Babies don't learn to talk just from hearing sounds. New research suggests they're lip-readers too.
It happens during that magical stage when a baby's babbling gradually changes from gibberish into syllables and eventually into that first "mama" or "dada."
Florida scientists discovered that starting around age 6 months, babies begin shifting from the intent eye gaze of early infancy to studying mouths when people talk to them.
"The baby in order to imitate you has to figure out how to shape their lips to make that particular sound they're hearing," explains developmental psychologist David Lewkowicz of Florida Atlantic University, who led the study being published Monday. "It's an incredibly complex process."
Apparently it doesn't take them too long to absorb the movements that match basic sounds. By their first birthdays, babies start shifting back to look you in the eye again — unless they hear the unfamiliar sounds of a foreign language. Then, they stick with lip-reading a bit longer.
Click HERE to read the rest of the story.
Babies don't learn to talk just from hearing sounds. New research suggests they're lip-readers too.
It happens during that magical stage when a baby's babbling gradually changes from gibberish into syllables and eventually into that first "mama" or "dada."
Florida scientists discovered that starting around age 6 months, babies begin shifting from the intent eye gaze of early infancy to studying mouths when people talk to them.
"The baby in order to imitate you has to figure out how to shape their lips to make that particular sound they're hearing," explains developmental psychologist David Lewkowicz of Florida Atlantic University, who led the study being published Monday. "It's an incredibly complex process."
Apparently it doesn't take them too long to absorb the movements that match basic sounds. By their first birthdays, babies start shifting back to look you in the eye again — unless they hear the unfamiliar sounds of a foreign language. Then, they stick with lip-reading a bit longer.
Click HERE to read the rest of the story.
Click the below links to check out some of our other press coverage:
