Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The UBC Centre for Infant Cognition has been at the forefront of research into the earliest development of human mentalizing, and has been supported by NSERC since 2010. Evidence for high-level abilities in human infants requires accumulating converging evidence across multiple distinct methodologies that come together in a coherent whole; as such, my laboratory consists of 5 distinct testing spaces each tailored to unique infant testing methods, from behavioural responses (looking time, reaching, approach) to neuro- and psychophysiological recordings (pupillometry, electroencephalography (EEG), facial electromyography (fEMG), electrodermal activity (EMG) and hear rate (ECG)). Our publications include data from multiple of these methods at once, typically from the same infants. Unfortunately, significant components of my lab's core testing infrastructure, including the audiovisual recording systems that integrate all the testing spaces and methodological subcomponents, as well as our eye-tracker, have reached the end of their usable lives; this has resulted in significant data loss and wasted time pursuing band-aid fixes, with entire system failure on the near horizon. Thus, the current proposal aims to (1) update the current audiovisual recording system from Noldus Information Technologies, including extension of its coverage/data integration capacities to our EEG testing space, while retaining various still-functional components; and (2) replacing our obsolete and malfunctioning SMI eye-tracker with one from EyeLink that will also be integrated into the Noldus system. These upgrades will allow the Centre for Infant Cognition to continue its NSERC-funded work and training of HQP, while at the same time minimizing cost and disruption to our ongoing research. In addition to the upgrades being absolutely critical to the continued functioning of my research program, there is no other funding available to me to acquire the replacement equipment in an alternative way.