April A. Benasich facts for kids

April A. Benasich is an American neuroscientist. This means she is a scientist who studies the brain and nervous system. She is a top professor at Rutgers University. There, she leads the Infancy Studies Laboratory. She also directs the Carter Center for Neurocognitive Research. Dr. Benasich is also a main researcher for the National Science Foundation. This work is part of the Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center.

Dr. Benasich made an important discovery. She found a link between how babies hear sounds and their later language skills. She showed that if babies have trouble hearing quick, small sound differences, they might have language problems later. This ability to hear tiny sound changes is very important for language development. It helps predict how well children will learn to speak. Her research also suggests that we can find babies at risk early. We can then help them with special training games. These games help babies focus on small sound differences. Babies who played these games developed better "sound maps" in their brains.

Becoming a Brain Scientist

April A. Benasich earned her Ph.D. degrees in 1987. She studied experimental/cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology at New York University. She also has a bachelor's degree in nursing. This gave her a lot of medical experience with children.

After her Ph.D., she did special research training. First, she worked at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She was part of a big study there. This study looked at early help for premature babies. Later, she did another research fellowship. She worked with Paula Tallal at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience.

What Dr. Benasich Studies

Dr. Benasich's research focuses on how the brain develops early in life. She studies the processes needed for normal thinking and language. She also looks at what happens when these processes don't work well. This includes babies who are at high risk or have brain issues.

Early Brain Development

At New York University, Dr. Benasich worked with Marc Bornstein. They studied how babies' actions, like paying attention, relate to later thinking and language. At Johns Hopkins, she helped with a big study. It tested an early support program for babies born too small or too early.

Sounds and Language

As a researcher at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Dr. Benasich created new ways to test babies. She could check how babies processed quick sounds. She also looked at how this related to their language skills later on. Her studies showed that differences in how babies hear quick sounds were linked to their later understanding and speaking of language. Hearing quick sounds is a key skill for understanding speech.

At her Infancy Studies Laboratory, Dr. Benasich has studied over 1000 children. Her research has continued for more than fifteen years. She focuses on how the brain supports thinking and language. She also studies how the brain processes sensory information quickly. This quick processing skill can predict language problems and dyslexia in older children.

Her research shows that hearing tiny sound details is vital. This means hearing sounds that last only a few thousandths of a second. This skill helps babies understand speech. It also helps them build "phonemic maps." These are like sound maps in the brain that support language development.

Brain Waves and Learning

Currently, Dr. Benasich's lab studies infant brain waves. These are also called brain oscillations. They look at how these waves change as babies process important timing cues. These cues are needed to build early sound maps for language. If a baby's brain doesn't process these timing cues well, it can cause language difficulties. This is especially true for children whose families have a history of language learning issues.

Studies from Dr. Benasich's lab suggest good news. Early help for young babies can improve their language mapping and quick sound processing. These positive changes can last a long time.

Dr. Benasich also helped start a company called RAPT Ventures. This company aims to take lab discoveries and use them in the real world. Their goal is to help optimize early brain development. This is especially important during the key times for learning language.