When it comes to the navigation area, young children are much smarter than we trust them. Previous studies suggest that our voyage capabilities do not truly kick in until age 12, but new studies suggest that these claims rest, revealing that five-year-olds can find around a large space.
studyIt is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesdemonstrated amazing cognitive abilities when a 5-year-old navigates a small virtual town. Aiming to grasp how the brain develops at a young age, this study also showed how science can be introduced to children in a productive and engaging way.
How does the brain help with navigation?
One of the perennial dilemmas of neuroscience is to distinguish between the knowledge burned into our brains at birth and what knowledge arises over time. Research uses functional MRI (fMRI) technology to measure brain activity following changes in blood flow and understand the brain at a deeper level.
Researchers involved in this study previously concentrated in three areas of the adult brain. This starts with the Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA). This allows you to recognize locations and assign them to different categories. The retrospunial complex (RSC) then maps these locations into larger spaces. Finally, navigating nearby environments will prevent the back of the head location area (OPA) from hitting obstacles.
In 2024, researchers found that systems associated with OPAs did not fully develop until age 8, but theorized that young children should still be able to map around them, even before they could walk well.
read more: Why don’t you remember your baby when you have a baby?
Explore a small town
A new study confirmed it RSC (responsibility for map-based navigation in large spaces) is already well developed in children under the age of 8. The results come from an immersive experiment involving a 5-year-old participant who was familiar with a virtual location called “Tiny Town.”
Researchers highlighted the importance of creativity to make experiments fun for children, giving small towns such as ice cream shops, playgrounds and fire stations fun landmarks. The town itself is made as a triangle, with each point marked with a particular landscape. It was called the mountain corner, the tree corner, and the lake corner.
“We want to ask the scientific questions we are trying to answer, but it’s also important that children who are involved in the study have fun,” said Yaelan Jung, the first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at Emory University’s School of Psychology. statement. “We want them to leave with a good impression of science.”
Understanding a child’s brain
After being introduced to Tiny Town, children were encouraged to explore the streets by moving using the arrow keys on their computers. Once they were familiar with the layout, they were tested on the buildings and features they saw, and most kids passed the test.
From here, the researchers performed fMRI scans on the children to ensure all the comfort. While the scan was occurring, the kids took part in a game-like task, showing pairs of images from small towns and pressing buttons if the images were accurately correlated. Data from the scans ultimately proved that children can use brain RSCs to promote navigation in large spaces and create maps in the mind.
According to researchers, the next step is Brain development More clever strategies may be required to get them to engage in the experiment.
“It’s fascinating to explore how humans use different parts of the brain for complex behaviors and how it changes with age and experience,” John said in a press release. “We lay the foundation for clinical use, including a better understanding of typical and atypical neurodevelopment.”
read more: Supports a child’s rapidly developing brain
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Jack Knudson is Discover’s assistant editor with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before taking part in the discovery in 2023, he studied journalism at Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communications and previously interned in Recycle Today’s Magazine.
