IT IS not uncommon for Oxford researchers to be crying out for volunteers to help with groundbreaking research.

But what makes studies at Oxford Brookes University different is the age of the people they need – babies, aged just four to 14 months.

The Oxford Brookes Babylab has been running studies on babies for several years, trying to figure out what makes them tick.

But absolutely crucial to their research is recruiting parents and their babies to take part.

And tomorrow, people are being invited to take their children along to the lab to find out more.

Mum-of-three Laura Baldock, from East Oxford, works as an administrator for the team of researchers.

Two of her children have been involved in studies at the Babylab.

She said: “We need a constant supply of babies because different studies come through all the time, and we need the right age group.

“My children have always enjoyed it because it is a nice place to be. It is very welcoming, with lots of toys and children enjoy it very much.”

Theo, three, and Arthur, five, have both been involved in various studies, most involving simple observation of the youngsters interacting.

Mrs Baldock added: “We can’t really get past the name ‘Babylab’, it does sound like a place where scientists stick electrodes on their tiny heads but it’s nothing like that. All the studies are set up to be enjoyable for the children – otherwise they wouldn’t work.

“We wouldn’t get the results we needed because the children wouldn’t pay attention.”

One of the key studies at the moment is about how language spoken around babies affects their understanding and ability to organise objects.

They are shown objects on a screen and the amount of time they spend looking at them before they get bored is measured using the latest eye-tracker technology.

Prof Gert Westermann has received £100,000 in government funding for the study and hopes to study 120 babies over the next year. But research is dependant on finding tots to take part.

Anyone interested in participating should turn up at the Babylab on the first floor of the Buckley Building, at Brookes’ Headington campus, between 9.30am and noon tomorrow.

  • For more details email babylab@brookes.ac.uk