Gesture Gives a Hand to Language and Learning: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology and Education

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer D. Kelly ◽  
Sarah M. Manning ◽  
Sabrina Rodak
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Developmental Psychology

Motor development in infants and children

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Libertus
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Motor development has been relatively neglected in Developmental Psychology over the past 30 years. A recent renaissance of interest in this domain provides new insights into the dynamic nature of motor development with large individual differences, the myriad of factors influencing motor skill learning, and the long-lasting and important implications of motor activity for cognition, language, and even academic achievement. These behavioral and observational findings raise new questions that need to be addressed by future research. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience is uniquely positioned to answer open questions about motor development and to contribute to our understanding of the processes underlying the variability, malleability, and generality of motor development. This chapter summarizes select current findings and hopes to stimulate future research using Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience methods.

From emotion resonance to empathic understanding: A social developmental neuroscience account

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1053-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Decety ◽  
Meghan Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Developmental Neuroscience ◽  
Neural Dysfunctions ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe psychological construct of empathy refers to an intersubjective induction process by which positive and negative emotions are shared, without losing sight of whose feelings belong to whom. Empathy can lead to personal distress or to empathic concern (sympathy). The goal of this paper is to address the underlying cognitive processes and their neural underpinnings that constitute empathy within a developmental neuroscience perspective. In addition, we focus on how these processes go awry in developmental disorders marked by impairments in social cognition, such as autism spectrum disorder, and conduct disorder. We argue that empathy involves both bottom-up and top-down information processing, underpinned by specific and interacting neural systems. We discuss data from developmental psychology as well as cognitive neuroscience in support of such a model, and highlight the impact of neural dysfunctions on social cognitive developmental behavior. Altogether, bridging developmental science and cognitive neuroscience helps approach a more complete understanding of social cognition. Synthesizing these two domains also contributes to a better characterization of developmental psychopathologies that impacts the development of effective treatment strategies.

scholarly journals Grist and mills: on the cultural origins of cultural learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1599) ◽  
pp. 2181-2191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Heyes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Cumulative Cultural Evolution ◽  
Cultural Origins

Cumulative cultural evolution is what ‘makes us odd’; our capacity to learn facts and techniques from others, and to refine them over generations, plays a major role in making human minds and lives radically different from those of other animals. In this article, I discuss cognitive processes that are known collectively as ‘cultural learning’ because they enable cumulative cultural evolution. These cognitive processes include reading, social learning, imitation, teaching, social motivation and theory of mind. Taking the first of these three types of cultural learning as examples, I ask whether and to what extent these cognitive processes have been adapted genetically or culturally to enable cumulative cultural evolution. I find that recent empirical work in comparative psychology, developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience provides surprisingly little evidence of genetic adaptation, and ample evidence of cultural adaptation. This raises the possibility that it is not only ‘grist’ but also ‘mills’ that are culturally inherited; through social interaction in the course of development, we not only acquire facts about the world and how to deal with it (grist), we also build the cognitive processes that make ‘fact inheritance’ possible (mills).

scholarly journals Psychological Mechanisms Forged by Cultural Evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Heyes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Nature And Nurture

The adaptive features of cognitive mechanisms, the features that make them fit for purpose, have traditionally been explained by nature and nurture. In the last decade, evidence has emerged that distinctively human cognitive mechanisms are also, and predominantly, shaped by culture. Like physical technology, human cognitive mechanisms are inherited via social interaction and made fit for purpose by culture evolution. This article surveys evidence from developmental psychology, comparative psychology, and cognitive neuroscience indicating that imitation, mentalizing, and language are “cognitive gadgets” shaped predominantly by cultural evolution. This evidence does not imply that the minds of newborn babies are blank slates. Rather, it implies that genetic evolution has made subtle changes to the human mind, allowing us to construct cognitive gadgets in the course of childhood through cultural learning.

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in the Era of Networks and Big Data: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien A. Fair ◽  
Nico U.F. Dosenbach ◽  
Amy H. Moore ◽  
Theodore Satterthwaite ◽  
Michael P. Milham
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Functional Connectivity Mri ◽  
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Developmental cognitive neuroscience is being pulled in new directions by network science and big data. Brain imaging [e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional connectivity MRI], analytical advances (e.g., graph theory, machine learning), and access to large computing resources have empowered us to collect and process neurobehavioral data faster and in larger populations than ever before. The translational potential from these advances is unparalleled, as a better understanding of complex human brain functions is best grounded in the onset of these functions during human development. However, the maturation of developmental cognitive neuroscience has seen the emergence of new challenges and pitfalls, which have significantly slowed progress and need to be overcome to maintain momentum. In this review, we examine the state of developmental cognitive neuroscience in the era of networks and big data. In addition, we provide a discussion of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the field to advance developmental cognitive neuroscience's scientific and translational potential. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, Volume 3 is December 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

A Call for Greater Attention to Culture in the Study of Brain and Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 174569162093146
Author(s):  
Yang Qu ◽  
Nathan A. Jorgensen ◽  
Eva H. Telzer
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cultural Neuroscience ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Developmental Neuroscience ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Despite growing research on neurobiological development, little attention has been paid to cultural and ethnic variation in neurodevelopmental processes. We present an overview of the current state of developmental cognitive neuroscience with respect to its attention to cultural issues. Analyses based on 80 publications represented in five recent meta-analyses related to adolescent developmental neuroscience show that 99% of the publications used samples in Western countries. Only 22% of studies provided a detailed description of participants’ racial/ethnic background, and only 18% provided for socioeconomic status. Results reveal a trend in developmental cognitive neuroscience research: The body of research is derived not only mostly from Western samples but also from participants whose race/ethnicity is unknown. To achieve a holistic perspective on brain development in different cultural contexts, we propose and highlight an emerging interdisciplinary approach—developmental cultural neuroscience—the intersection of developmental psychology, cultural psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Developmental cultural neuroscience aims to elucidate cultural similarities and differences in neural processing across the life span. We call attention to the importance of incorporating culture into the empirical investigation of neurodevelopment.

scholarly journals What imitation tells us about social cognition: a rapprochement between developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience

2003 ◽  
Vol 358 (1431) ◽  
pp. 491-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew N. Meltzoff ◽  
Jean Decety
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Common Coding ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Psychological Evidence ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Brain

Both developmental and neurophysiological research suggest a common coding between perceived and generated actions. This shared representational network is innately wired in humans. We review psychological evidence concerning the imitative behaviour of newborn human infants. We suggest that the mechanisms involved in infant imitation provide the foundation for understanding that others are ‘like me’ and underlie the development of theory of mind and empathy for others. We also analyse functional neuroimaging studies that explore the neurophysiological substrate of imitation in adults. We marshal evidence that imitation recruits not only shared neural representations between the self and the other but also cortical regions in the parietal cortex that are crucial for distinguishing between the perspective of self and other. Imitation is doubly revealing: it is used by infants to learn about adults, and by scientists to understand the organization and functioning of the brain.

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