Various research projects are underway in the Minagawa laboratory.
People acquire social and communication skills as they adapt to their birth environment. The Lab conducts a variety of studies and research on newborns and infants, who are in the midst of acquiring these abilities, in order to clarify their brain development and the accompanying changes in the way they hear and learn language, as well as the way they view human faces, facial expressions and movements. For more information about the laboratory, please click here.
・Related research projects : Research on Innovative Areas
Brain basis of hierarchical learning in early development and hierarchical structure of vocalisation, Fundamental S
longitudinal study
A cohort study of infants at risk for developmental disorders, mainly autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), and typically developing children is being conducted to longitudinally measure brain function, perceptual and cognitive function and motor function during the neonatal period and from the age of 3 months to 3 years. children at risk for ASD (babies with older siblings with developmental disorders By comparing the developmental processes of children at risk of ASD (babies born with a sibling with a developmental disorder or babies born prematurely) with those of children with typical ASD, we aim to clarify the relationship between brain, cognitive and motor functional development in the acquisition of language and communication skills, as well as the physiological and behavioural factors that predict developmental disorders. The elucidation of these factors is expected to be useful for the early diagnosis and preventive intervention of developmental disorders, mainly autistic spectrum disorders.
・Related research projects : Fundamental S
Brain, cognition, body and language communication development : a cohort study of typically and atypically developing infants and toddlers
Human infants were once thought to be born with a blank slate, but with advances in neuroscience, it has been revealed that infant brain function is more developed than previously thought. Our research projects have shown that the prefrontal cortex function in speech and language processing in newborns, which was thought to be underdeveloped, is relatively mature, and that specific caregiver speech promotes the development of language and social skills in infants. For more information.
・Related research projects : Research on Innovative Areas
Brain basis of hierarchical learning in early development and hierarchical structure of vocalisation, Fundamental S
Under the management of the research directorate, research on empathic behaviour support is carried out in networked research in which several research groups are organised and conducted by the principal investigators in order to achieve the strategic goals set by the national government. Through human augmentation technology for sharing and augmenting social signals, an understanding of the neural basis of this technology, and empirical research, we aim to show that it is possible to augment the transmission of people’s intentions, to help people understand others and to support empathic behaviour. For more information, please click here.
・Related research projects: CREST
Supporting empathetic behaviour by sharing and extending social signals
The research methods developed by the laboratory are applied to industry-academia collaboration. We have worked with various companies, mainly major manufacturers, to jointly develop children’s toys and other products. Major collaborators include Pilot Ink Corporation, Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation and Bandai Co. For more information, please click here.
This seminar focuses on auditory research on spoken language and music, as well as on visual, olfactory and tactile perception, using various methods such as NIRS and eye cameras. In the Baby Lab, research is conducted on language acquisition and social cognitive development in infants and children, so seminar students can also conduct their own brain function experiments and psychological experiments on infants and children to collect data while conducting their graduation research.
Keio University has established the Centre for the Study of Lifelong Development of Communicative Behaviour, following its selection for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Strategic Research Infrastructure Formation Support Programme in 2015. The centre will conduct cross-disciplinary research in psychology, science and engineering, medicine and other fields, aiming for a comprehensive understanding of communicative behaviour throughout the lifespan.
We are working on developing useful tools for research. The Minagawa laboratory handles measurement data such as heart rate, skin potentials, gaze and behaviour, including NIRS. Various methods are used to extract meaningful information from these measurement data. This section introduces the tools developed in this laboratory. The development language is mainly Matlab. For more information, please click here.