A joint laboratory established by National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) and US-based Haskins Laboratories was inaugurated in Taipei yesterday, with academics from the two sides set to work together on the learning mechanism of infants.
A delegation led by Kenneth Pugh, president and director of research at Haskins Laboratories, signed a memorandum of understanding with NTNU a day earlier to establish the NTNU-Haskins Joint Laboratory of Brain Development and Learning.
NTNU chair professor Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗), a Haskins Laboratories board member since 2015, told a press conference that one of the institute’s current focuses is the use of functional near-
infrared spectroscopy systems in the research of language and reading development in infants.
The system is a non-invasive optical imaging technique that measures changes in hemoglobin concentrations within the brain by means of the characteristic absorption spectra of hemoglobin in the near-infrared range.
Human learning capability peaks in infancy, Haskins Laboratories senior researcher Richard Aslin said.
Aslin said he discovered years ago that infants have the ability to rapidly extract rules hidden in information, adding that this ability is perfect for learning languages.
Aslin is working with NTNU on a research project with six-month-old Taiwanese as subjects.
The project aims to study the learning mechanism in the human brain as it relates to cross-sense stimulus links and prediction, he said.
Initial research shows that six-month-olds can learn the connection between objects and sounds within one minute, said Aslin, who described babies as super-powerful learning machines.
The NTNU-Haskins joint laboratory will continue to explore the early physical signs of infants’ cognitive ability and to determine methods that can help children who suffer from autism and language development disorders, he said.
Founded in 1935, Haskins Laboratories is a private, non-profit research institute with a primary focus on speech, language and reading, and their biological basis.
The New Haven, Connecticut-based lab has long-standing, formal affiliations with the University of Connecticut and Yale University, NTNU said.
The university introduced Pugh to reporters as one of the scientists who initiated the application of functional magnetic resonance imaging to the research of reading and reading disabilities.
Pugh has also undertaken a lot of research in the areas of cognitive neurology and psycholinguistics, NTNU said.
Accompanying Pugh on his visit to Taiwan are Joseph Cardone, vice president of finance at Haskins Laboratories, and Heikki Lyytinen, a professor at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland and chair of Inclusive Literacy Learning for UNESCO.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS