A methodological perspective on learning in the developing brain

npj Science of Learning, vol. 7, pp. 12

Abstract

The brain undergoes profound development across childhood and adolescence, including continuous changes in brain morphology, connectivity, and functioning that are, in part, dependent on one's experiences. These neurobiological changes are accompanied by significant changes in children's and adolescents' cognitive learning. By drawing from studies in the domains of reading, reinforcement learning, and learning difficulties, we present a brief overview of methodological approaches and research designs that bridge brain- and behavioral research on learning. We argue that ultimately these methods and designs may help to unravel questions such as why learning interventions work, what learning computations change across development, and how learning difficulties are distinct between individuals.

Authors 4

1. Anna C. K. van Duijvenvoorde corresponding Aachen Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. a.c.k.van.duijvenvoorde@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

   Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. a.c.k.van.duijvenvoorde@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

   Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Lucy B. Whitmore

   University of Oregon

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

   Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

3. Bianca Westhoff Aachen Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

4. Kathryn L. Mills

   University of Oregon · University of Oslo

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

   PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

   Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA