Dear Supporters of the Cusack Lab,

This week we are excited to share some of our team's scientific highlights from the past months.

Our first study based on the Foundcog data has been published in Nature Neuroscience. The findings attracted considerable media coverage and revealed that babies as young as two months old can categorise objects in their brains, far earlier than previously thought. The research was led by Prof. Rhodri Cusack, with Dr. Cliona O’Doherty as lead author. The team combined Foundcog functional MRI (fMRI) with artificial intelligence models to study brain activity in 130 awake infants as they viewed images from 12 common categories, including animals and everyday objects like rubber ducks and trees. The findings show that even before language develops, infants brains not only process how things look but also organise them into meaningful categories, showing that the foundations of visual cognition are already in place in the first months of life. As the largest longitudinal fMRI study of awake infants, this research advances understanding of early brain development, supports improved early diagnosis, and informs biologically inspired AI systems. The open access publication is available to read on Nature Neuroscience journal website.

We are deeply thankful to all the parents who have participated in our study. This work would not have been possible without your support.

The study has attracted widespread media attention. Prof. Rhodri Cusack discussed the findings on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland and Newstalk, and the research featured prominently on the front pages of The Irish Times, RTÉ, Euronews, as well as in the official press release from Trinity College Dublin.

Prof. Rhodri Cusack delivered a talk at the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at University College London (UCL) in London. During his presentation, he discussed how the infant brain develops, shared insights from our team’s research and findings, and highlighted how similar techniques can be applied to further advance our understanding of early brain development.

Mirjam Marx joined the Cusack Lab as an intern on 19 February and will be with us for two months. She is currently pursuing her M.Sc. in Psychological Science at the University of Regensburg.

Mirjam’s research explores the neural dynamics of object learning across development, using time–frequency methods and multivariate pattern analysis of EEG data. During her time at the Cusack Lab, she is expanding her methodological expertise to include fMRI analyses of infant data, with a particular focus on inter-subject correlation analysis.

We are currently recruiting volunteers to take part in an fMRI study as part of the Freezemotion project. During the scan, participants will experience stimuli under different movement conditions. The findings will contribute to developing more accurate and reliable algorithms for improving the quality of fMRI scans across research and clinical applications.

To participate, you should:  Be comfortable undergoing an MRI scan and following simple task instructions.

Get paid €20/hour for your time

For more details or to sign up, please scan the QR code in the poster or contact us at mfaizan@tcd.ie or visit https://www.cusacklab.org .

Our team has made great progress in analysing infant brain imaging data, uncovering developmental patterns that deepen our understanding of early brain growth. Our team is developing more techniques that deepens our understanding of infants brain development. We look forward to sharing these developments with you in the future. We are deeply grateful for your continued support and engagement — your involvement truly helps make our research possible.

We look forward to sharing more updates with you in the months ahead.

Warm regards,

The Cusack Lab

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