# Exploring Developmental Neural Mechanism of Gaze Behaviors during Parent-Child Play

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON · 2022 · $213,822

## Abstract

Project Summary
 The proposed study will investigate microstructure of early parent-infant play at behavioral and neural levels. The goal
is to develop a novel method that combines a naturalistic head-mounted eye tracking system with EEG to pursues an
innovative and significant idea in our field: that language learning emerges early at home and introduced socially (e.g., with
the active participation of a parent), the early multisensory experience builds a perceptual and neural foundation that
generates a positive cascading effect on subsequent language learning. The methodological aspect of the study aims to
establish dynamic assessment approach–gaze coupled with neural activities—allows researchers to directly address the
current limitation of studies using either head-mounted eye tracking system or EEG system alone. To the best of our
knowledge, there is no previous work combining live naturalistic head-mounted eye tracking system and EEG, and this
integrated task analysis will be performed in the context of social interaction with families of diverse backgrounds. Language
learning occurs through social interaction and does so among widely diverse populations, and yet our understanding about
how these processes are moderated across populations is limited. We propose a cross-sectional study (6- and 12-months-
old) that entails observation of parent-infant object play while the infant wears a head-mounted eye tracker and EEG sensors
in order to examine the potential neural significance (neural attentiveness measured by theta synchronization and alpha
desynchronization) of coordinated visual experiences. The innovative project requires an interdisciplinary approach that
combines expertise from our team members. The proposed research is a critical step toward advancing our understanding
of early human multimodal perception and communication—a missing piece in theories of language development. The
results ultimately will reveal a potential pathway in which social scaffolding shapes neural experiences and offers socially
achievable prevention and amelioration of developmental deficits.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10433184
- **Project number:** 1R21HD108746-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Hanako Yoshida
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $213,822
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-03-15 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10433184

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10433184, Exploring Developmental Neural Mechanism of Gaze Behaviors during Parent-Child Play (1R21HD108746-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10433184. Licensed CC0.

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