Motor Skills   
We are interested in finding out more about how children use choose to use their body to help them undertake day-to-day activities. Children will be presented with a series of simple, everyday activities. For example, we may ask your child to remove the lid from a pen or pull apart some Lego bricks. We will videotape these activities and use these recordings to determine which body parts (e.g., hand, feet, mouth) your child was using to achieve the tasks (around 30 minutes).

Brain Scanning  
We are interested in finding out how early motor skills, specifically the use of different body parts (torso, mouth, legs, feet), can shape brain reorganisation. We will use functional MRI scans to determine how the brain represents different body parts. Children will be asked to play the invisible butterfly game, during which they will visit an imaginary forest to help us find the butterflies by identifying gentle flutters of the wings on different parts of their body. These ‘flutters’ are small puffs of air created by silicone pads worn on their arm, leg, foot, torso, and chin. During the 40 minute scan, your child will watch Pixar cartoons. Both you and the research team will be able to see and hear them at all times and talk to them through the intercom. After the scan, we will show you both what their brain looks like and you will be given a copy of these pictures.

Organising your session
Allow up to 3 hours for your session, which can be arranged to suit your schedule. We typically run them at weekends throughout the year, and during school holidays - whenever is most convenient. We will pay for your travel and accommodation expenses in advance and forward you the confirmations. We also give a £20 Amazon voucher as a thank you, as well as a £30 donation to Reach on your behalf.