Archaeology and cultural anthropology show that humans developed many discrete skills (social, technological, natural history, and language intelligence) over the past million years, but only recently have combined these into "broad" intelligence. Understanding learning is a key issue. Metacognition, the ability to consider one's…

Discusses the irregularity and unpredictability of the human body. Presented are pictures showing the fractallike structures and research findings on the mechanism for chaos in the human body. Lists four further reading materials. (YP)

Psychophysiological measures are generally those in which electrodes measure central or autonomous nervous system or skeletomotor activity with the goals of establishing linkages between the measurement and specific psychological processes. Psychophysiological methods and the difficulties inherent in their use are discussed. Guidelines are…

Describes the synchronized activities of specialized areas in the visual cortex responsible for the simultaneous process of seeing and understanding. Presents the anatomic and functional organization of the visual cortex in the human brain, implications drawn from the study of pathologies afflicting the visual cortex, identification of blindsight,…

Discusses studies of the neurobiology of memory and cognition. Presents the findings of anatomic and physiological studies of monkeys that have led to discoveries about the structure of working memory. (MCO)

A discussion of stress and college administrators looks at two types of stress (eustress and distress), stress and the autonomic nervous system, the need for regular exercise as well as stress reduction activities, the influence of personality on stress, the sources and stages of burnout, and stress management for administrators. (MSE)

Explores implications for understanding educational decision making from a cognitive science perspective. Examines three models of mind providing the methodological framework for decision-making studies. The "absent mind" embodies the behaviorist research tradition. The "functionalist mind" underwrites traditional cognitivism…

Reviews research indicating linguistic knowledge is not innate, that the infant brain is highly differentiated at birth, that processing biases that lead to the "standard brain plan" are innate and localized but not specific to language, and that the infant brain is highly plastic, permitting alternative "brain plans." (Author/CR)

This review discusses how general principles of brain development have contributed to both human brain plasticity and the acquisition of the human capacity for speech. Specifically, the role played by plastic developmental processes in the evolution and development of articulate control over vocalization in speech is examined. (Contains…

Notes that scientists understand in greater detail the various anatomical and neurological changes that allow children to develop motor and sensory abilities. Explores how the research findings are calling into question the notion of prescribed developmental milestones. (HTH)

Debates the paradoxical nature of claims about the emerging contributions of functional brain mapping. Examines the various ways that images are deployed and rejected and highlights an approach that provides insight into the current demarcation of imaging. (Contains 68 references.) (DDR)

Discusses the connection between brain development and human educational needs based on neuroscience research. Considers brain development from conception, including cell structure, myelination, and regional development of the brain, stressing the importance of a child's early environment and the prenatal vulnerability of the brain. (JPB)

Converging evidence from a number of neuroimaging studies suggest that fluent word identification in reading is related to the functional integrity of two left hemisphere posterior systems: a temporo-parietal system and a ventral occipito-temporal system. Readers with difficulties demonstrate heightened reliance on both inferior frontal and right…

Visual object processing in infancy is often described as proceeding from an early stage in which object features are processed independently to a later stage in which relations between features are taken into account (e.g., Cohen, 1998). Here we present the Representational Acuity Hypothesis, which argues that this behavioral shift can be…

Recurring seizures in infants and children are often associated with cognitive deficits, but the reason for the learning difficulties is unclear. Recent studies in several animal models suggest that seizures themselves may contribute in important ways to these deficits. Other studies in animals have shown that recurring seizures result in…