Baby Blues: Neonatal, Infant, and Toddler Research Challenges
The first five years of a child’s life are marked by considerable change—both physiological and psychological. Young children undergo incremental development in their ability to think and solve problems, their emotions, and their linguistic abilities, to name just a...
Choosing the Right Signal: Easy as 1, 2, 3
In physiology and life sciences, researchers rely on a wide range of signals to gather data from humans and animals. These signals provide critical insight into how complex organisms function under a myriad of conditions. However, this wealth of potential data sources can also present a challenge for researchers: choosing the right signals on which to focus their data gathering. For those lacking a background in the disciplines and mechanisms behind these signals, sifting through the available methodology can be overwhelming. The best place to begin is by considering one or a combination of the “Big Three” physiological signals: ECG, EDA, and respiration.
The Right Tools: Streamlining Stimulus Presentation
Our nervous system processes information from a dizzying array of stimuli—visual, auditory, thermal, olfactory, and tactile, among others. How organisms respond to stimuli provides researchers with a wealth of information on how they adapt, learn, and live. The...
Scaling Up: The Challenges of Large-Group Studies
When formulating an approach to a research study, planning experiments, and choosing the right technology for the job, size matters. Research studies with human subjects generally fall into three scale-related categories: individual, small-group, and large-group...
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