There are already 65 families that have participated in the eye-tracking study!

The BiSC project, in collaboration with the Laboratory for Attention, Perception, and Acquisition of Language (APAL) of the University of Barcelona, ​​has launched two studies that explore cognitive abilities in babies, using the technique of eye movement tracking, also known as “eye-tracking”.

This technique allows you to continuously record the baby’s gaze, what he is looking at and what elements catch his attention. This allows us to objectively and quantifiably measure your visual attention and your abilities to process visual stimuli early in their development.

Among the cognitive skills, we explore is visual recognition memory. To do this, we first present a pair of identical stimuli (we use faces or geometric drawings) and, after a few seconds, we present a change in one of the images. Babies respond favorably to novelty, so we hope that in this presentation they will show an attentive preference for the image that has changed.

Using a different task, we measure whether the baby has already begun to develop “object permanence,” that is, the understanding that an object continues to exist, even when it cannot be seen. For this we present a video in which a ball appears moving from one side of the screen to the other, passing behind an opaque panel. Here we measure the ability to anticipate where the object will reappear.

* The red dot corresponds to the baby’s gaze

We take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the volunteer families who have already participated in our studies and we extend an invitation to all who are interested in being part of this great project. Our goal is to reach 200. We are waiting for you!

The text has been written by Jessica Sánchez-Galán, a research technician of BiSC project.