MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitAttention and memory in childhood
Researchers in the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit are conducting studies designed to look at the relationship between attention and memory in children of primary school age. We have been working with local schools to conduct a number of studies with schoolchildren, exploring how they retain and retrieve information from memory and how attention plays a role in this. These studies have given us valuable insight into how children remember information, and why short-term memory seems to differ from child to child. Our ongoing research involves conducting studies that explore the brain mechanisms that underpin short-term memory and attention in childhood. We are looking for children aged between 6 and 11 to take part in our research, and we are hoping that you and your child would consider helping us. If this sounds interesting to you and your child, you can register your interest by submitting your details via the form below. Registering your interest does not oblige you and your child to actually participate – we will simply contact you with further information about our studies, at which point you can decide whether or not to be involved.
What we’re trying to find out
Our research focuses on trying to understand how children keep information in short-term memory despite distractions. In particular, we suspect that what might distinguish children with high short-term memory capacity from other children is an increased ability to resist distraction. We already know that a child’s ability to retain information for brief periods of time is an excellent predictor of how much progress they make in the classroom; children with low short-term memory capacity are likely to make less progress than children with high short-term memory capacity. But we would like to know how children’s brains use attention to optimise memory capacity.
What will happen if your child takes part
If you and your child decide to take part then you will both be invited to visit the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, based on Chaucer Road in Cambridge, at a convenient time for you.
We use two main research methods in our studies: electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Both methods are commonly and extensively used in both adults and children, and involve no discomfort to the participant. EEG involves wearing a headcap fitted with sensors that pick up the naturally occurring activity of the brain, while MEG involves sitting in a chair and being raised into a large helmet containing hundreds of sensors to pick up brain activity. EEG and MEG participants usually then perform a simple computer game or task that is projected onto a screen in front of them, or sometimes we are interested in simply recording the brain activity occurs when the participant is resting with eye closed.
If you and your child take part, when you arrive at the unit you will have the opportunity to look around the lab and ask any questions. After the brief tour, if you and your child would still like to take part there will be a consent form for you to sign. Depending on the particular study, participation sessions can last from about 1 to 2 hours (we incorporate lots of breaks into each session so participants do not have to focus for too long at a time). You can remain present with your child throughout the whole experiment, and researchers will also be present the entire time.
Participants in MEG studies are also usually offered the chance to have an MRI scan. This is another common research method that is used extensively with both adults and children, and involves lying down inside the long, cylindrical MRI scanner. MRI scans provide information about the unique structure of each participant’s brain, allowing us to understand the information from their MEG scans more accurately. Our MRI scans take less than 10 minutes, and participants are given a picture of their brain to take home.
What happens to the results of our studies
Results for each child are kept strictly confidential. Children are identified by a code number only and all information and results are kept on password-protected computers at the Unit. We include regular summaries of our findings in our newsletters, which are available to interested families. We also aim to publish our findings in scientific journals. Because performance on many of the computer tasks we use can only be interpreted accurately at the level of the group, rather than the individual, we provide summaries of group performance, and we are happy to discuss group findings with interested parents/guardians or teachers. Furthermore, the recording is not used for diagnostic purposes, and the researchers are not trained in the diagnosis of any clinical disorders.
Who is conducting this research
This research is organised and conducted by Drs. Duncan Astle and Jessica Barnes. If you are interested in hearing more about our research, or have any questions, then please get in touch with them.
All our research projects receive ethical approval from the relevant ethics committees before any volunteers are recruited or tested.
What to do next
If you would like your child to potentially be involved with our research, please fill out the form below and submit your details. Your details will be submitted to the researchers involved in this study and will not be given to anybody else. This information will be stored securely. Once you have submitted your details, we will be in contact with you to discuss our current and future studies and to answer any questions you might have.
Submitting your details does not oblige you to be involved with our studies and you can choose to opt out of participating or receiving communication from us at any point.
If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us:
E-mail: Jessica.Barnes@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk or Duncan.Astle@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Phone: 01223 273758
Submit your details
Please register your interest in your child participating in this study by submitting the details in this form. You and your child may choose to opt out of participation at any time.
How to find us
