Book description
A new understanding of cognitive development from the perspective of neuroscience
This book provides a state-of-the-art understanding of the neural bases
of cognitive development. Although the field of developmental cognitive
neuroscience is still in its infancy, the authors effectively
demonstrate that our understanding of cognitive development is and will
be vastly improved as the mechanisms underlying development are elucidated.
The authors begin by establishing the value of considering neuroscience
in order to understand child development and then provide an overview of
brain development. They include a critical discussion of
experience-dependent changes in the brain. The authors explore whether
the mechanisms underlying developmental plasticity differ from those
underlying adult plasticity, and more fundamentally, what distinguishes
plasticity from development.
Having armed the reader with key neuroscience basics, the book begins
its examination of the neural bases of cognitive development by
examining the methods employed by professionals in developmental
cognitive neuroscience. Following a brief historical overview, the
authors discuss behavioral, anatomic, metabolic, and
electrophysiological methods. Finally, the book explores specific
content areas, focusing on those areas where there is a significant body
of knowledge on the neural underpinnings of cognitive development, including:
* Declarative and non-declarative memory and learning
* Spatial cognition
* Object recognition
* Social cognition
* Speech and language development
* Attention development
For cognitive and developmental psychologists, as well as students in
developmental psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive development, the
authors' view of behavioral development from the perspective of
neuroscience sheds new light on the mechanisms that underlie how the
brain functions and how a child learns and behaves. CHARLES A.
NELSON III
, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, holds the
Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research
at Children's Hospital Boston, and is the Director of Research in the
Developmental Medicine Center, Children's Hospital Boston. His research
is concerned with developmental cognitive neuroscience broadly defined,
with specific interests in the effects of early experience on
brain-behavior development, in memory development, and in the
development of face processing.
MICHELLE de HAAN, PhD, is Senior Lecturer at the Institute of
Child Health, Birkbeck College, University of London. Dr. de Haan's
main area of research is the neural basis of visual recognition and
long-term memory. She is the Associate Editor of Developmental Science.
KATHLEEN M. THOMAS, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the
Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Dr. Thomas
applies neurophysiological techniques, such as MRI, to address the
interaction among multiple neural systems involved in learning.
