UW News

Alexis Bosseler

April 8, 2024

Everyday social interactions predict language development in infants

A woman sits with a baby facing her on her lap. The woman is talking to the baby using hand gestures. The baby is watching her.

In a study published April 8 in Current Biology, University of Washington researchers found that when the adult talked and played socially with a 5-month-old baby, the baby’s brain activity particularly increased in regions responsible for attention — and the level of this type of activity predicted enhanced language development at later ages.