Laura-Ann Petitto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura-Ann Petitto
Born	New York City, New York, United States
Education	Ramapo College, New York University, Harvard University
Awards	Guggenheim Fellowship (1998)
Scientific career
Institutions	Harvard University, McGill University, Dartmouth College, University of Toronto, Gallaudet University

Laura-Ann Petitto (born around 1954) is a brilliant scientist who studies the brain and how we learn. She is known for her amazing discoveries about language. Dr. Petitto has explored how chimpanzees can learn language and how our brains are built for language.

Her work covers how babies learn to speak or sign, how kids learn to read, and how people learn two languages (bilingualism). She found that deaf babies "babble" with their hands, just like hearing babies babble with sounds. She also showed that our brains process signed and spoken languages in similar ways. Dr. Petitto helped create a new field called educational neuroscience, which combines brain science with education. She has led important programs at universities like Dartmouth College and Gallaudet University, helping to train new scientists in this exciting field.

About Laura-Ann Petitto

Her Education Journey

Laura-Ann Petitto started her science journey in 1973. She earned her first degree in 1975 from Ramapo College in New Jersey. During this time, she was already doing important research. She worked with a chimpanzee named "Nim Chimpsky" at Columbia University in New York City.

After that, she studied American Sign Language (ASL) at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She also continued her studies at New York University, getting a master's degree in 1978. She focused on helping people who are deaf. Later, she studied ASL more deeply at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

In 1979, Dr. Petitto went to Harvard University. There, she studied how people learn language and how their minds work. She earned another master's degree in 1981 and her doctorate in 1984. She then began teaching at McGill University in Canada. She also received a special award called the MacArthur Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. This allowed her to continue her groundbreaking research.

Amazing Discoveries in Science

Dr. Petitto's research has made a big impact across many science areas. Her early work with Nim Chimpsky and her later studies with humans cover topics like how animals and humans learn, how language developed, and how our brains work. Her main discoveries include:

• How apes and humans use language and think.
• How human babies learn language, and how our brains are wired for it. She found that babies' brains are very sensitive to certain rhythms. These rhythms help them learn language sounds and words.
• The structure and rules of natural signed languages, like those used by deaf people.
• How bilingual babies, children, and adults learn and use two languages. She also studies how their brains are organized for this.

Creating a New Science Field

Dr. Petitto helped create a new science area called Educational Neuroscience. She worked with her husband, Kevin Niall Dunbar, on this. This field combines discoveries about the brain and child development. The goal is to use this knowledge to solve problems in society and improve how young children learn.

Using New Technology

Dr. Petitto often uses new technology to answer tough science questions. For example, she used special brain scans (like PET and MRI) to see how signed and spoken languages use the brain. She also used high-speed motion capture to study how deaf and hearing babies "babble" with their hands.

She uses fMRI and fNIRS (another type of brain scan) to study how babies' brains develop as they learn one or two languages. She also uses eye-tracking technology. With her team, she even helped create a special tool called RAVE. RAVE uses robots, avatars, and other tech to help babies learn language in a fun, interactive way.

All of Dr. Petitto's discoveries and writings help us understand how the brain specializes in language. They also show us what kind of language experiences children need early in life. This helps us learn how to help all children learn languages in the best way, whether they are signed or spoken.

Early Research Highlights

In 1973, Dr. Petitto began teaching signed language to a baby chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky. She was the main teacher and caretaker for Nim. She lived with Nim like a child, trying to create a natural language environment. Most of Nim's learning happened during her time on the project. She and her team wrote important papers about how ape and human minds are similar and different.

After her work with Nim, Dr. Petitto made discoveries about signed languages, especially American Sign Language (ASL). She used signed languages as a "microscope" to find out what is truly universal about human language. Her research focused on:

• Universal Language Rules: She compared signed and spoken languages, and different signed languages. She found that they share many basic rules.
• Language Milestones: She discovered that babies learning signed languages reach language milestones at the same age as babies learning spoken languages.
• Universal Language Structures: She found that children learn specific parts of language structure in similar ways, whether they are signing or speaking. For example, babies learning signed languages "babble" with their hands. This "manual babbling" is just like vocal babbling in hearing babies. This discovery showed that babbling is not just about sound. It's about how babies respond to specific patterns in language. This changed how we think about human language. This discovery was so important it was featured on the cover of Science magazine and the front page of The New York Times on the same day!
• Brain and Language: Dr. Petitto and her team found that the same brain areas are used for language, no matter if it's signed or spoken. This means these brain areas are not just for sound. They are for the special patterns that are part of all human languages.

Dr. Petitto's research helped show that the signed languages of deaf people are real languages. They have the same ability to express ideas as spoken languages. Her team also studied a teaching method called "Simultaneous Communication" (Simcom). This is where teachers tried to speak English and sign ASL at the same time. Her research showed that Simcom was not a good way to teach. It didn't fully represent either ASL or English.

Instead, her work supported using a natural signed language like ASL with deaf children from a young age. This gives them a strong language base. Then, they can learn other languages like English. This idea led to a new approach in deaf education. It moved towards a "Bilingual and Bicultural" model. This model helps deaf children learn language in the healthiest way for their brain development.

Current Research

Dr. Petitto's current studies combine four main areas:

• Genetics: Looking at tiny differences in genes.
• Behavioral Studies: Measuring how people think and learn language.
• Brain Imaging: Using tools like fNIRS and eye-tracking to see how the brain works.
• Artificial Intelligence: Using robots and avatars (like RAVE) to help young deaf babies learn signed language. This is especially for babies who haven't had much language exposure early in life.

Since 2000, Dr. Petitto's research has continued to grow. She and her team found that young children who learn two languages early are not confused or delayed. These children reach their language milestones at the same time as children learning only one language. This means that learning two or more languages early in life is great for language and reading success.

Her team has also found out how babies can tell the difference between language sounds. They have also identified what helps children learn to read and spell. They even found that young bilingual children sometimes have an advantage in reading compared to children who only speak one language. They also discovered that bilingual schooling can help children from lower-income families.

Dr. Petitto and her team are also studying how adult brains learn new languages. Since 2014, her team has been using behavioral studies, brain imaging, and AI (robots, avatars) to understand how humans learn throughout their lives. They especially focus on the best ways for young deaf and hearing children to learn signed and spoken languages.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Petitto has received more than twenty international awards and honors. Some of them include:

• The Sin Wai-Kin Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Humanities, University of Hong Kong (2014–2016).
• Invited to present and talk with The 14th Dalai Lama about how experiences change the brain (October 2010).
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (October 2008).
• Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) (December 2008).
• The Justine and Yves Sergent International Prize in Cognitive Neuroscience (2004).
• Invited to present to Pope John Paul II as an expert in Educational Neuroscience (November 2003).
• Guggenheim Award for her amazing achievements in Neuroscience (1998).
• Visiting Resident Scholar at Università & Ospedale Istituto San Raffaele, Italy (1998–1999).
• Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (1991–1992).
• American Psychological Association Boyd R. McCandless "Young Scientist Award" for her early career achievements in Developmental Psychology (1988).
• American Psychological Association "Young Psychologist Award" (1988).