New research from Trinity College Dublin reveals that two-month-old babies are already capable of organizing visual information into distinct object categories, a cognitive ability previously thought to emerge much later. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, marks a significant advance in understanding how infants perceive and make sense of the world long before they can speak or move with precision. Led by Dr. Cliona O'Doherty, now at Stanford University, the research team from the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN) and the School of Psychology used functional MRI (fMRI) to observe brain activity in 130 awake infants at just two months old. The babies viewed colorful, engaging images from 12 familiar categories—such as animals, toys, vehicles, and trees—while lying comfortably on beanbags and wearing sound-cancelling headphones. By combining these brain scans with artificial intelligence models, the researchers were able to decode how different object categories were represented in the infants’ brains. The results showed that even at this early stage, babies’ brains were not just processing visual details but also grouping objects by category, indicating an advanced level of visual cognition. Rhodri Cusack, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Trinity, described the study as the largest longitudinal fMRI investigation of awake infants to date. He emphasized that the findings open new possibilities for measuring infant cognition and could one day support early diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions. The study also highlights the potential for learning from babies’ brains to improve artificial intelligence. Unlike today’s AI models, which require vast amounts of data and computation, infants learn rapidly and efficiently. Understanding their brain mechanisms may inspire smarter, more energy-efficient AI systems. Co-authors Dr. Anna Truzzi of Queen’s University Belfast and Professor Eleanor Molloy of Children’s Health Ireland noted the broader implications. The research offers new insights into early brain development, which can inform early education strategies and clinical approaches for conditions like autism or developmental delays. The findings underscore that the first year of life is a critical period for brain development, and that even the youngest infants possess complex cognitive abilities. The study was supported by an artistic interpretation created by Cian McLoughlin, artist in residence at TCIN in 2024, reflecting the research’s impact beyond science.