If we feel a touch on one of our hands, it draws our attention to that hand. When we record adults’ brain activity whilst we flash a light on either the hand that they are paying attention to, or the hand that they are not, we see a difference in how the brain processes that flash of light. Paying attention to something causes a much larger brain response than if our attention is elsewhere. Little is known about this process in infants. By recording your child’s brain activity (using a special cap), we are able to focus in on the parts of the brain that process vision and touch and explore how infants process this kind of information.

In our study, we want to find out how young infants’ brain responds to light vibrations (that feel like slight tickles) on their hands which signal the location of a flash of light presented moments later (placed on the back of their hands via scratch mittens). We are currently inviting 7 and 10 month old infants to participate in this project.