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    Implementing neuroimaging and eye tracking methods to assess neurocognitive development of young infants in low- and middle-income countries

    Katus, L. and Hayes, N.J. and Mason, Luke and Blasi Ribera, Anna and McCann, S. and Darboe, M.K. and de Haan, M. and Moore, S.E. and Lloyd-Fox, Sarah and Elwell, C.E. (2019) Implementing neuroimaging and eye tracking methods to assess neurocognitive development of young infants in low- and middle-income countries. Gates Open Research 3 , p. 1113. ISSN 2572-4754.

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    Abstract

    Infants and children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are frequently exposed to a range of environmental risk factors which may negatively affect their neurocognitive development. The mechanisms by which factors such as undernutrition and poverty impact development and cognitive outcomes in early childhood are poorly understood. This lack of knowledge is due in part to a paucity of objective assessment tools which can be implemented across different cultural settings and in very young infants. Over the last decade, technological advances, particularly in neuroimaging, have opened new avenues for research into the developing human brain, allowing us to investigate novel biological associations. This paper presents functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking (ET) as objective, cross-cultural methods for studying infant neurocognitive development in LMICs, and specifically their implementation in rural Gambia, West Africa. These measures are currently included, as part of a broader battery of assessments, in the Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT) project, which is developing brain function for age curves in Gambian and UK infants from birth to 24 months of age. The BRIGHT project combines fNIRS, EEG and ET with behavioural, growth, health and sociodemographic measures. The implementation of these measures in rural Gambia are discussed, including methodological and technical challenges that needed to be addressed to ensure successful data acquisition. The aim is to provide guidance to other groups seeking to implement similar methods in their research in other LMICs to better understand associations between environmental risk and early neurocognitive development.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): EEG, Infancy, Global Health, Eye Tracking, Fnirs, Neurocognitive Development, Low-and Middle-income Countries (Lmic)
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Brain and Cognitive Development, Centre for (CBCD)
    SWORD Depositor: Mr Joe Tenant
    Depositing User: Mr Joe Tenant
    Date Deposited: 02 Dec 2019 12:33
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:54
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/29447

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