PHYSIOLOGICAL METHODS

Electroencephalography (EEG)

The core method used at BABA is scalp electroencephalography (EEG), which measures electrical activity at the brain’s surface (i.e. cortex). EEG also involves studying evoked responses, which assess the brain’s reaction to various sensory stimulations. Such combination of study is more formally known as “multimodal recording”. The multimodal studies at BABA are primarily focused on assessing visual and somatosensory systems.

Electroencephalography (EEG) in babies, including its different variations and practical aspects, is shown in this NEMO multimedia package prepared at BABA for educational purposes. This NEMO multimedia package is the largest freely available educational resource for guiding newborn EEG recordings.

We have also produced another educational resource, an interactive multimedia package, to explain the early development and assessment of brain activity in preterm babies.

Eye-Tracking

The tracking of infant gaze, or looking behavior, has rapidly become a popular research method used within the field of developmental psychology. BABA Center was one of the first hospital-based clinical research laboratories to begin eye-tracking research in 2010. Infant gaze analysis provides researchers with understanding of an infant’s perception, attention, learning, and memory. The method is based on utilizing an infrared light source and camera detection as the infant views a stimulus presented on a computer screen. The eye-trackers used at our lab are both remote and automatic, meaning that no part of the device comes into contact with the infant. Currently, our lab uses eye-tracking to study both the visual system and cognition of infants (3-8 months) as well as preschoolers (4-6 years).