Professor Denis Mareschal recently gave a webinar for Learnus, a charity specialising in bringing research innovations in neuroscience to educators. He discusses lessons learned from 4+ years of studying young participants in our incredible ToddlerLab. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHQhgFSLHAo

Watch Channel 5 to see a family visiting the Babylab and findings from the STAARS study! Professor Emily Jones discusses studying autism and what it means with presenter Dr Claire Taylor. https://www.channel5.com/show/are-you-autistic

Our first paper on brain activity in mothers and their children in the Toddlerlab has just been published! We found when mums and kids solve puzzles together, their brains synchronise. Read more here: https://direct.mit.edu/imag/article/doi/10.1162/imag_a_00509/128247/Analytical-pipeline-optimisation-in-developmental

Check out Dr Chiara Bulgarelli's "5-Minute" podcast interview, where she explains how and why we use virtual reality to study the development of socialisation and social preferences in young children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJzGcs-MgA0

We are delighted to see the publication the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood's Shaping Us Framework. The Framework describes core social and emotional skills in an accessible way, which everyone in society can use and understand – as the basis for action. Social and emotional development begins in early childhood, and this period provides a golden opportunity to nurture these skills – which then continue to grow throughout our lives. Getting this right could have a truly profound impact on the future of individuals, and our society. Our Prof Emily Jones wrote an essay supporting the launch, focusing on the importance of communication: https://centreforearlychildhood.org/news-insights/guest-essays/communic…

Calling all Persian speakers! The Babylab & Toddlerlab, Prof Emily Jones and Dr Jannath Begum Ali were featured on BBC Persia about their work studying ASD in babies and children. From 17:20 in, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-elcd1Nv9M

CBCD Lecturer Ori Ossmy was filmed in the ToddlerLab for BBC's 'Brain Hacks' documentary series. Check out his insight on why babies are the best learners, even compared to Chat GPT! https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0fc9tlx/chatgpt-why-we-re-still-smarter-than-machines

Published research from CBCD PhD student Aislinn Bowler involving assessments of over 9500 children identifies link between fine motor skills in toddlers and later GCSE scores and behaviour. Fine motor skills in young children, for example drawing, folding paper and block building, may play an important role in the pathway between infancy and later educational and behavioural outcomes in primary and secondary school. Importantly, the researchers found preschool fine motor skills were linked to better GCSE scores and fewer behavioural problems in childhood and adolescence. Read more here: Birkbeck Press Release. Full article here: Biological Psychiatry