Child development researchers meet in Tampere to establish a Nordic Research Network

Researchers examining infant and child development will meet at the University of Tampere on August 22nd and 23rd to advance collaboration and to create a thematic research network in Nordic countries. Research groups from the university of Uppsala, Linköping, Oslo, and Tampere will participate in the meeting.

The meeting brings together scientists utilizing novel brain imaging and eye-tracking tools to assess neural, cognitive and social development in infants and young children. By networking, the participants hope to facilitate the exchange of ideas, methodology, and people between research groups.

- The aim is to create a virtual developmental psychology lab that includes some of the leading Scandinavian research institutions, says Professor Gustaf Gredebäck from Child Development lab at Uppsala University.

- Through this process we hope to facilitate collaboration between researchers and participate in a joint, multicenter research project that targets individual differences early in development, Professor Gredebäck says.

Multicenter researcher projects make it possible to combine expertise in genetic, epigenetics, brain imaging, and cognitive research methods to probe individual differences in early development.

In future, such studies may offer new diagnostics techniques for assessing cognitive and social functioning in infants and young children. In addition, the studies may help in detecting atypical developmental trajectories already during the first year of life.

For more information:
Jukka Leppänen, Infant Cognition lab, Pediatric Research Center, University of Tampere School of Medicine, jukka.leppanen@uta.fi