Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Karen Adolph describes her research and ideas studying motor development in babies, and how it could help improve robots.
Apologies this is audio-only!
Show notes: braininspired.co/podcast/197
Patreon (full episodes and Discord community: patreon.com/braininspired
Apple podcasts: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-inspired/id1428880766?mt=2
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2UZj8c8Ap5oc2gh2rJxLLe
The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists.
Read more about our partnership: thetransmitter.org/partners
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To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org.
Karen Adolph runs the Infant Action Lab at NYU, where she studies how our motor behaviors develop from infancy onward. We discuss how observing babies at different stages of development illuminates how movement and cognition develop in humans, how variability and embodiment are key to that development, and the importance of studying behavior in real-world settings as opposed to restricted laboratory settings. We also explore how these principles and simulations can inspire advances in intelligent robots. Karen has a long-standing interest in ecological psychology, and she shares some stories of her time studying under Eleanor Gibson and other mentors.
Finally, we get a surprise visit from her partner Mark Blumberg, with whom she co-authored an opinion piece arguing that "motor cortex" doesn't start off with a motor function, oddly enough, but instead processes sensory information during the first period of animals' lives.
0:00 - Intro
3:06 - Karen's background
5:57 - Eleanor Gibson
10:02 - Karen's early interest in ecological psychology
13:12 - Ecological Psychology concepts
20:23 - What is mind?
23:10 - Modern AI from Karen's perspective
29:18 - Development, bodies, and robots
34:46 - Falling is a good thing (when you're young)
38:38 - Outlook on AI
49:14 - How to study babies
58:11 - Naturalistic behavior
1:08:32 - Motor cortex isn't motor related early in development
1:20:12 - Karen's future directions
Karen Adolph describes her research and ideas studying motor development in babies, and how it could help improve robots.
Apologies this is audio-only!
Show notes: braininspired.co/podcast/197
Patreon (full episodes and Discord community: patreon.com/braininspired
Apple podcasts: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-inspired/id1428880766?mt=2
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2UZj8c8Ap5oc2gh2rJxLLe
The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists.
Read more about our partnership: thetransmitter.org/partners
Sign up for the “Brain Inspired” email alerts to be notified every time a new “Brain Inspired” episode is released: thetransmitter.org/newsletters
To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org.
Karen Adolph runs the Infant Action Lab at NYU, where she studies how our motor behaviors develop from infancy onward. We discuss how observing babies at different stages of development illuminates how movement and cognition develop in humans, how variability and embodiment are key to that development, and the importance of studying behavior in real-world settings as opposed to restricted laboratory settings. We also explore how these principles and simulations can inspire advances in intelligent robots. Karen has a long-standing interest in ecological psychology, and she shares some stories of her time studying under Eleanor Gibson and other mentors.
Finally, we get a surprise visit from her partner Mark Blumberg, with whom she co-authored an opinion piece arguing that "motor cortex" doesn't start off with a motor function, oddly enough, but instead processes sensory information during the first period of animals' lives.
0:00 - Intro
3:06 - Karen's background
5:57 - Eleanor Gibson
10:02 - Karen's early interest in ecological psychology
13:12 - Ecological Psychology concepts
20:23 - What is mind?
23:10 - Modern AI from Karen's perspective
29:18 - Development, bodies, and robots
34:46 - Falling is a good thing (when you're young)
38:38 - Outlook on AI
49:14 - How to study babies
58:11 - Naturalistic behavior
1:08:32 - Motor cortex isn't motor related early in development
1:20:12 - Karen's future directions
