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We are pleased to invite you to participate in a research study at the School of Psychology, University College Dublin. The study, titled “An exploration of executive function in children with and without ADHD: using eye tracking technology!”, is part of an ongoing PhD project at UCD Babylab. It aims to explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying potential behavioral differences in children with and without ADHD during two computerized "TeleFE" tasks, developed by researchers at the University of Genoa, Italy. The study will help identify differences in inhibitory control and visual attention. During the session, your child will play two short video games while their eye movements are monitored to analyze visual reaction times and attention focus.
What are Executive Functions and Eye-Tracking?
Children with ADHD often struggle with executive functioning skills, such as inhibitory control, which may lead to difficulties like speaking out of turn in class. This study aims to understand whether these children exhibit differences in visual behavior, such as reaction time and attention focus, during computerized tasks designed to assess executive functioning.
Eye tracking, a non-invasive method, allows researchers to explore attention networks and inhibitory control by analyzing specific neurophysiological and behavioral components that are not easily detectable through traditional methods. This pilot study will enhance our understanding of executive functions in children with ADHD and inform future research that incorporates eye tracking to study these cognitive skills.
Executive functions are crucial cognitive skills that help us manage our behavior, remember information, adapt to new situations, and control impulses. These skills are essential for success in school and social interactions. During the study, children with and without ADHD will play two short video games while their eye movements are monitored to analyze visual reaction time and attention patterns.
How can I get involved?
The project is ready to start, and there are many ways to get involved! If you're interested, contact Alice through the form provided.
We are inviting all children aged 6 to 10, with or without an ADHD diagnosis, to participate. Children with other neurodevelopmental disorders, or a history of visual, sleep, motor disorders, or brain injury, are also welcome but may be excluded from the final data analysis.
If you decide to participate, you and your child will need to complete consent and assent forms. The in-person study will take place at the UCD Neuropsychology Lab in Dublin. During the session, your child will play two short video games while their eye movements are tracked to analyze visual reaction times and attention focus. The session will last approximately 30 minutes.
You will be asked to fill out questionnaires regarding your child’s medical history, executive functions, sleep patterns, and screen use. As a token of appreciation, you will receive a 10 euro voucher, a small gift for your child, and a “Kid Scientist” certificate.
Who is leading this study?
The project led by Alice Bazzurro, is a PhD candidate in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Genoa, currently at UCD as a visiting PhD student.
Her research interests focus on executive functions and self-regulation skills, particularly in relation to neurodevelopmental disorders during school age. Alice is especially interested in integrating technology for assessment and intervention, both in-person and remotely. She is excited to join the BabyLab team and work on a project examining executive functioning in children, both with and without ADHD, using eye-tracking technologies.
She is supervised by Michelle Downes,the principal investigator of the UCD Babylab, and Assoc Prof Paola Vierbori from the University of Genoa.
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The impact of E-cigarettes during pregnancy on Childhood Health Outcomes (ECHO) study is an observational study being carried out across three Dublin maternity hospitals (The Rotunda, The Coombe, and the National Maternity Hospital) examining the health impact on babies born to women who use e-cigarettes during pregnancy.
Throughout the study, we aim to collect a wide range of information on pregnant mothers and their babies. For this study, we are looking to recruit women who vape during pregnancy.
For comparison, we are also seeking pregnant women who smoke and don’t smoke.
Find out more information about the study, recruitment, and what is involved at the link here.
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Toddlers’ Executive Development and Pretend Play (TEDDY) is an ongoing PhD project at the UCD Babylab. It aims to study how play can contribute to the development of executive functions in toddlerhood using previous literature and two original, empirical studies with toddlers and their parents.
What does TEDDY stand for?
TEDDY stands for Toddlers’ Executive Development and Pretend Play but was also chosen as a name for this project for thematic reasons. For many children, their first toy is some form of plush toys, like a teddy bear, which soon takes on an important role in a child’s early life and in a way is their first pretend play partner. Children give voices to their teddy bears, imagine their thoughts or their feelings and are a way for children to explore new social roles, such as a caring and nurturing parent or friend to their teddy bear. As such, TEDDY both stands for the title and the thematic focus of this project.
How can I get involved?
The TEDDY project is currently still in its early planning stages and there are many opportunities to get involved! If you are interested in finding out more, browse through our pages on the UCD Babylab website and reach out to Tobias via the contact form below any time!
If you are a parent or family, we are interested to hear how you value and incorporate play in your daily life with your children. What kind of play activities is your family interested in? How often do you get to play with your children? What are popular themes in your children’s play? Reach out to us via e-mail at any time! We will be hosting a knowledge exchange day in the spring of 2025 and would love to have you there. We will also be inviting parents and toddlers (18 to 28 months) for our lab-based study in the UCD Babylab starting in the spring of 2025. Let us know via the contact form below if you are interested!
If you are a parent of a toddler or are working in an early childhood organization, creche or preschool and are interested in the topics of children’s play and cognitive development we want to hear your insights or ideas for our study design. We are also seeking research sites for our data collection periods and are specifically interested in spaces around North Dublin. Reach out to us via the contact form if you would like to get involved.
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Body Imagery and Postural Effects on Development and Learning (BIPEDAL) is an EU-funded project investigating how babies learn about their own bodies, movements, and actions, and how this helps them to understand other people too.
What is this study about?
As adults, we can reason about other people and what they might be thinking. Babies learn about the world directly, through what they see, hear, and touch. There are a lot of steps in between! One way that we think babies might begin to learn about other people is by matching their own experiences of doing things, to other people’s activities. For example, after learning how to bash two objects together to make a fun noise, the baby might figure out that an adult wants to make noise when they see the adult banging two objects together.
What will happen during the study?
In the BIPEDAL project, we want to study what is happening in the baby’s brain when they watch other people doing something, and what’s happening when they are doing the same thing. We use EEG, a baby-safe modern technology that records brain activity using sensors inside a comfortable cap that is worn on the head. We can record EEG while your baby sits in a chair or on your lap. In this study, we’ll show your baby videos of people playing with toys using their hands and feet. We’ll also give your baby a chance to play with the toys too. We will ask you to fill in a short questionnaire about your baby’s motor development, that is, what sort of actions and activities they have learned to do so far.
Who can take part?
We are looking for babies between the ages of 4 and 6 months, 8 and 10 months, or 12 and 14 months. We are asking for you to bring your child to the Babylab for just one EEG session. If your baby is 10 months or younger when you visit, and you would like to return for another session, we would be delighted to have you back.
More information
If you would like more information, you can read our full document here. If you would like to register your interest, please fill in the form below. It is OK if your baby is currently too young to take part, or if they are currently between the listed age groups. We can contact you closer to when they are the right age for the study.