Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab


click picture to see animation		click picture to see animation

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field devoted to understanding how children’s minds change as they grow up, interrelations between that & how the brain is changing, and environmental and biological influences on that.

Our lab specializes in studying a region of the brain known as prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the cognitive abilities that depend on it, especially in young children.

Those abilities are often called executive functions and consist of cognitive control functions such as cognitive flexibility, inhibition (attentional control, self-control), working memory, reasoning, and problem-solving.

We organize a biennial conference to help

children by bringing research findings to

parents, teachers, doctors, and others.

Attendees LOVE it!

next one: July 16-20, 2010, Vancouver

We study ……
	their development
	genetic influences on them
	environmental influences on them
	& their neural bases
	(neuroanatomical and
	neurochemical).	click on Alan Alda's picture	click on the Dalai Lama's picture

To study their development, we have developed neurocognitive
games that can be used even with infants, & where the same measures can be used with preschoolers through octogenarians

To study their neural bases and modulation by genes and neurochemistry,
we use functional neuroimaging (fMRI) & molecular genetic techniques

To study their modulation by the environment,
we look at detrimental factors such as poverty or exposure to teratogens, and
we look at facilitative factors such as bilingualism, social supports, or school programs

Click Here		One line of our work has led to worldwide changes in the medical guidelines for the treatment of a genetic disorder (PKU) that improved many children’s lives. see: http://www.psychologymatters.org/diamond.html

Click Here		We have recently documented marked advances in executive functions due to an early childhood school curriculum (Tools of the Mind) that requires no specialists or expensive equipment, just regular teachers in regular classrooms. The children who spent more time in social pretend play outperformed their peers who received more direct academic instruction. We are now following this up in a longitudinal study. see also: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27tools-t.html see also: httpp://www.devcogneuro.com/images/Pubs/ National_Scientific_Council_on_the_Developing_Child2009.pdf

Click Here		In 2005, we argued that ADHD without hyperactivity differs in its genetic and neural basis, cognitive profile, and responses to medication from ADHD that includes hyperactivity. This has resonated deeply with clinicians and patients.

Click Here		In 2004, we reported evidence of the relation between a genetic polymorphism and EF performance in children that challenged accepted notions of the role of dopamine in prefrontal cortex.

Click Here		In 2002, we showed we could halve the age at which infants can demonstrate the ability to deduce abstract rules. Our pilot work indicates that this also works with children with autism. The implication is that children with autism may be able to grasp abstract concepts long thought beyond their ability; the information just needs to be presented to them in a way they can understand. see: http://www.devcogneuro.com/Publications/TICS--2006.pdf

Click Here		Our earlier work demonstrated one of the first strong empirical links between early cognitive development and brain function, and was instrumental in beginning the field of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. see: http://www.devcogneuro.com/images/table.jpg

for photos, click here

for info on the meeting above, click here

for info on educating the heart, click here

American Public Media's
Speaking of Faith
program on Sun., Nov. 22
Learning, Doing, Being: A New Science of Education
"What neuroscientist Adele Diamond is learning about the brain is turning some of our most modern ideas about education on their heads. Her work is scientifically illustrating the educational power of things like play, sports, music, memorization and reflection. What nourishes the human spirit, the whole person, it turns out, also hones our minds."

for info on the program, click here