Development

We change as we age

Our members of staff working on psychological changes across the lifespan study the development of perceptual and cognitive abilities in infants, children and older adults. They are interested in answering questions such as:

• How does our memory change as we age?
• What is the impact of brain development in adolescence on the way we perceive our body?
• How do changes in a new parent’s brain and mind influence their child’s development?
• When do babies learn to imitate actions?

They rely on the latest cutting-edge methodologies to examine the links between brain and behaviours across the lifespan.

For example, they use functional near infrared spectroscopy to study how the infant brain processes the social world, and magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the link between adolescent brain development, body perception and psychopathology. They also measure muscle activity to understand the developmental mechanisms underlying imitation.

Our Essex Babylab, the leading infant research centre in the East of England, is where we carry out our fun studies with infants and children. Academics studying development also carry out research in related areas such as interoception, action understanding, and emotion.