Parents are not the only ones wondering what new connections are being made inside their babies' brains. Scientists want to know too. And given the heightened excitement about new technologies like brain scanners, you might think that new information would come pouring forth about how a young brain develops, what stimulates it and how neurons make connections.
But it's not so easy. Most scanning technology is built for adults, who can be told to sit still. Babies wiggle and squirm. The unpredictable little buggers are impossible to order around.
What if, however, the babies were sleeping? They squirm a bit, yes, but try positioning them in a little cradle that restricts their movements and gently glide them into a fMRI scanner. That is just what a group of scientists in Sweden have done. Their paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, shows some of the first evidence of five resting-state networks in infants. I have a long way to go before in my neuroscience education before I can decipher the significance of what they found, but it was fascinating to see the picture that accompanied the article. Go to this post by the Neurophilosophy blogger on ScienceBlogs to see a photo of a bundled newborn, eyes shut and sleeping, with a pacifier at the ready, preparing to be scanned.
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