Research Presentation: Prof. Bruce McCandliss, Candidate for Faculty Position in Behavioral Neuroscience

Early elementary school is a
time of transformation in which new cognitive abilities emerge in reading and
mathematics that are foundational for future learning. How do such learning experiences lead to
changes in functional brain systems?
More specifically, how do differences among learners and differences
among instructional approaches influence the process of linking symbolic
systems with other pre-existing systems already functioning within the mind of
the child? This talk will review
findings from my lab using functional neuroimaging (i.e. fMRI, ERP) to examine
the rise of these novel symbolic skills within early elementary school children. Central to this approach is the investigation
of interactive specialization, by which new functions are shaped by activity
patterns between domain specific brain systems-- as in the case of linking
visual symbol systems to pre-existing neural systems involved in processing
phonology or numerical magnitude. I will
also review how this work incorporates neural observations at the level of the
individual child that provides specific insights into differences among
learners and may suggest pathways toward more effective interventions. In addition, this work investigates how
cognitive neuroscience may help refine our understanding of how instruction
influences cognitive mechanisms of learning.
For example, recent experiments reveal how the way an instructor focuses
a learner’s selective attention plays a substantial role in experience-based
changes in brain activity associated with the material being learned. Taken together, these findings suggest
several ways in which developmental cognitive neuroscience can contribute to
research within educational domains, and may provide a basis for even deeper
connections in the emerging trans-disciplinary field of Educational
Neuroscience.