Joint Seminars in Neuroscience Series

Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium (Room 132) 

Abstract: Philosophers and psychologists have long debated the relative roles of built-in structure versus learning in the developing human mind. Today, whole-brain measurements from awake infants can inform these debates. I will present fMRI data showing that preverbal infants’ brains distinguish faces, bodies, and scenes as distinct visual categories. Then, I will show that preverbal infants have face-selective responses in temporal and prefrontal regions, suggesting that cortical function develops in parallel. In the last part of my talk, I will present a study interrogating speech and music responses in infants’ brains and end by presenting ideas for future research.