If it is true that "new discoveries in neuroscience suggest that school readiness interventions might come too late if they start after the child is three years old", then the infant/toddler field must claim the concept of school readiness. The brain's foundation for all later learning is created in the first three years of life. As many…

The authors examine the effects of poverty-related adversity on child development, drawing upon psychobiological principles of experiential canalization and the biological embedding of experience. They integrate findings from research on stress physiology, neurocognitive function, and self-regulation to consider adaptive processes in response to…

The importance of stimulating learning environments and parental engagement in developing early literacy skills--and the influence of socio-economic status (SES) on the availability of such supports--is well documented. Some recent studies indicate that these same factors may also play an important role when it comes to neurological development.…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the complex causes of autism and potential risk factors, studied clues that could lead to earlier diagnosis, and evaluated promising…

We studied the role of nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) in Pavlovian fear conditioning. Rats were trained to fear conditioned stimulus A (CSA) in Stage I, which was then presented in compound with a neutral stimulus and paired with shock in Stage II. AcbSh lesions had no effect on fear-learning to CSA in Stage I, but selectively prevented learning…

Adolescence is a period of development in which peer relationships become especially important. A computer-based game (Cyberball) has been used to explore the effects of social exclusion in adolescents and adults. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study used Cyberball to extend prior work to the cross-sectional study of…

Case studies of extremely gifted individuals often reveal unique patterns of intellectual precocity and associated abnormalities in development and behavior. This article begins with a review of current neurophysiological and neuroanatomical findings related to the gifted population. The bulk of scientific inquiries provide evidence of unique…

The last decade has produced an explosion in neuroscience research examining young children's early processing of language that has implications for education. Noninvasive, safe functional brain measurements have now been proven feasible for use with children starting at birth. In the arena of language, the neural signatures of learning can be…

This volume presents the latest research from internationally recognized researchers and practitioners on language, literacy and numeracy, cognition, and social and emotional development of deaf learners. In their contributions, authors sketch the backgrounds and contexts of their research, take interdisciplinary perspectives in merging their own…

Research Findings: Each year the federal government disburses billions of dollars to support young children, with a particular focus on assisting families facing hardships. Policies for children revolve around several fundamental themes, including the promotion of physical health and high-quality environments, intellectual and language skills,…

Methodological issues relevant to magnetic resonance imaging studies of brain anatomy are discussed along with the findings on the neuroanatomic changes during childhood and adolescence. The development of the brain is also discussed.

Objective: Basal ganglia abnormalities have been suggested as contributing to motor, social, and communicative impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Volumetric analyses offer limited ability to detect localized differences in basal ganglia structure. Our objective was to investigate basal ganglia shape abnormalities and their association…

Childhood research has long shared a bio-political terrain with state agencies in which children figure primarily as "human futures". In the 20th century bio-social dualism helped to make that terrain navigable by researchers, but, as life processes increasingly become key sites of bio-political action, bio-social dualism is becoming…

A functional neuroimaging study examined the long-term neural correlates of early adverse rearing conditions in humans as they relate to socio-emotional development. Previously institutionalized (PI) children and a same-aged comparison group were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an Emotional Face Go/Nogo…

Theory of mind requires an understanding of both desires and beliefs. Moreover, children understand desires before beliefs. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying this developmental lag. Additionally, previous neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies have neglected the direct comparison of these developmentally critical mental-state…