Project description
Addressing disruptions in pre-term infants’ visual exploration
Babies develop remarkably quickly during their first year of life. Not only are they intrinsically driven to explore the world around them, they are also able to learn by focusing their visual attention on specific types of stimuli. The EU-funded InterPlay project will investigate the intrinsic visual exploration differences between full-term and pre-term infants. Since visual exploration and attention are usually disrupted in pre-term infants, developmental delays may result. The project will conduct a longitudinal study to integrate previous theoretical findings in the field of infants’ visual attention. This will improve current scientific and therapeutic practices, including caregiver attention-guiding behaviours addressing the disruptions in pre-term infants’ visual exploration.
Objective
Infants learn and develop at incredible speed. Although relatively helpless at birth, infants undergo significant development in the first year of life in many domains. But how do infants learn so quickly? They likely gather information that is optimal for learning by systematically allocating their visual attention to specific types of stimuli. Allocation of visual attention can be (1) intrinsically driven to guide their explorations in the world, or (2) guided by other social agents. Moreover, infants’ intrinsic visual exploration may be dependent on the “hardware”: the brain. This project aims to develop a comprehensive account of how these mechanisms interact in full-term and pre-term infants. Visual exploration and attention is often disrupted in pre-term infants, which may contribute to developmental delays. Since the World Health Organization estimates that 15 million infants are born pre-term annually, it is crucial to investigate how infants visually explore their environment and how this can be promoted through social interactions. Research into infants’ visual attention has been conducted by scientists from various fields, but few attempts have been made to integrate these findings into a comprehensive framework. As such, the interplay between these factors remains unknown. This lack of integration causes severe gaps in our theoretical understanding, hindering the development of healthcare policies and interventions. InterPlay addresses these knowledge gaps by integrating previous observations into a comprehensive, longitudinal study. The findings will have implications for current scientific and therapeutic practices. If caregiver attention-guiding behaviours could compensate disruptions in pre-term infants’ visual exploration, this would offer great potential for interventions early in life. Furthermore, infants’ brain connectivity may provide a unique predictor for the necessity of intervention, allowing healthcare providers to act in a timely manner.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
D02 CX56 Dublin
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.