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Ep. 4 - The Connected Mind (with Vicky Leong)

Birth of a Parent | Jul 29 2026 | 00:40:20

Sometimes a child is looking right at you and seems completely elsewhere, and sometimes they're completely with you. Developmental neuroscientist Vicky Leong studies those moments of connection, uncovering how parents and children synchronize their minds and get ready to learn from one another.


Shownotes: 


  • Victoria Leong – Publications (link)
  • Leong et al. (2017), Speaker gaze increases information coupling between infant and adult brains (link)
  • Natural Pedagogy Theory – Gergely & Csibra (link)
  • Early Childhood Matters


Shownotes 2:


  • Vicky’s Speaker Gaze Increases Information Coupling Between Infant and Adult Brains is the landmark study demonstrating that eye contact increases neural synchrony between adults and infants, one of the central findings discussed in this episode.
  • Natural Pedagogy Theory by Gergely & Csibra is a foundational theory proposing that humans are uniquely adapted to teach and learn through social signals such as eye contact, infant-directed speech and shared attention.
  • Browse Vicky Leong's research on parent–infant synchrony, learning and early brain development.
  • This podcast is part of the Early Childhood Matters platform by the Van Leer Foundation.

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