School neuropsychology focuses on brain--behavior relationships and how these connections influence the learning process. This specialized field considers the individual and sociocultural factors that influence cognitive development, using targeted neuropsychological assessments to guide effective intervention. While grounded in pediatric clinical…

This brief summarizes the working paper, "Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health, and Community Participation. Working Paper 14," which explains the science behind motivation--the "wanting" system and the "liking" system--as well as how those systems develop, and how…

The relations between the developing mind and developing brain are explored. We outline a theory of intellectual development postulating that the mind comprises four systems of processes (domain-specific, attention and working memory, reasoning, and cognizance) developing in four cycles (episodic, realistic, rule-based, and principle-based…

If students are explicitly taught about their brain's capacity to change, their motivation to learn can greatly increase. Marcus Conyers and Donna Wilson, author of "Developing Growth Mindsets," share examples from elementary to high school classrooms where students who are taught about brain plasticity show a greater potential for…

This brief summarizes the working paper, "Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health, and Community Participation," which explains the science behind motivation--the "wanting" system and the "liking" system--as well as how those systems develop, and how that development…

Human beings construct narratives about the world and their experiences in it--whether in math class or at the dinner table, people tell themselves stories about who they and others are, how the world works and why. Among teenagers, these meaning-making narratives are related to the activity and changing connectivity of the networks in their…

Children's brains develop faster in the early years than at any other time in their lives. If you want to make the most of this pivotal period, there is no time to waste. With newly updated research, the second edition of this bestseller provides parents and educators with strategies for building a brain-compatible environment where young learners…

Recent findings of neuroscientists offer educators insights into what kinds of instructional formats and strategies are likely to help students develop social, emotional, and cognitive competencies for success.

New brain imaging methods are helping us better understand how children learn, writes neuroscientist John Gabrieli. But "education neuroscience" has become the source of both promise and debate.

New advances in neurobiology are revealing that brain development and the learning it enables are directly dependent on social-emotional experience. Growing bodies of research reveal the importance of socially-triggered epigenetic contributions to brain development and brain network configuration, with implications for social-emotional…

Maria Montessori developed an educational program during the first half of the 20th century. Nowadays, the Montessori method (MM) is considered one of the main alternatives to teacher-paced conventional preschool education. This review aims to open a dialogue between the MM and current understanding of neurodevelopment. Four conceptual pillars of…

Modern neuroscience research, including neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has provided valuable insights that advanced our understanding of brain development and learning processes significantly. However, there is a lively discussion about whether and how these insights can be meaningful to the…

A healthy, engaged community depends on people achieving to the best of their potential, contributing actively to the economy and public well-being, and helping the next generation to thrive. A complex set of intertwined social and biological factors influences people's motivation to participate actively and productively in schools, jobs, and…

The adolescent brain is malleable, which makes adolescents particularly vulnerable to the impact of trauma. Yet this malleability also presents an opportunity. Since the brain undergoes dramatic changes during adolescence, this period of development offers the chance to heal from trauma experienced early in life when young people receive targeted…

A "neuromyth" is a popular idea about the brain that is not based on scientific understanding and may even contradict what is known. For several decades, scientists and educational experts have expressed their concern about the spread of neuromyths in schools and colleges. Not only can neuromyths reflect and promote a poor understanding…