Mental rotation (MR) is the ability to transform a mental representation of an object so as to accurately predict how the object would look from a different angle (Sci 171:701-703, 1971), and it is involved in a number of important cognitive and behavioral activities. In this review we discuss recent studies that have examined MR in infants and…

This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children's cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and…

The standard model of the role of early experience in human development assumes that children's environments in their first years of life are dominant influences on who they become as adults. The standard model favors interventions to improve children's long-term outcomes that start early in life and are intensive in time and attention from…

This article provides guidelines for an entry-level course that prepares psychology students and practitioners to acquire entry-level skills, abilities, knowledge, and attitudes important to the individual assessment of intellectual abilities of children and youth. The article reviews prominent international, regional, and national policies,…

Gaping disparities in educational achievement exist at kindergarten entry. Research indicates that school readiness requires a holistic approach directed by the pivotal question: What will allow babies to become successful learners? By understanding the real-life situations of babies and their families in the context of their communities and…

The development of numerical concepts is described from infancy to preschool age. Infants a few days old exhibit an early sensitivity for numerosities. In the course of development, nonverbal mental models allow for the exact representation of small quantities as well as changes in these quantities. Subitising, as the accurate recognition of small…

Prenatally and in infants and toddlers, the brain is being constructed as a foundation for all later learning. Positive early experiences contribute to the formation of a brain that is capable, early in infancy, of utilizing and strengthening the basic processes of learning. Throughout a lifetime, a person will repeatedly use these approaches to…

Many authors have argued that infants understand goals, intentions, and beliefs. We posit that infants' success on such tasks might instead reveal an understanding of behaviour, that infants' proficient statistical learning abilities might enable such insights, and that maternal talk scaffolds children's learning about the social world as well. We…

Executive functions (EFs) involve a number of interconnected systems that, when compromised, can result in difficulties that affect a child's ability to perform tasks across early childhood settings, including the home and community-based settings. In retrospective research studies, researchers have found that a young child's…

A version of the line motion illusion (LMI) occurs when one of two adjacent surfaces changes in luminance; a new surface is perceived sliding in front of the initially presented surface. Previous research has implicated high-level mechanisms that can create or modulate LMI motion via feedback to lower-level motion detectors. It is shown here that…

We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal "meaning"--affects, movements, representations--about themselves in…

This article presents the conclusion made by the consensus group regarding infantile spasms. The consensus group concluded that "infantile spasms are a major form of severe epileptic encephalopathy of early childhood that results in neurodevelopmental regression and imposes a significant health burden." The entire group agrees that the best…

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…

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…

The balance between the preservation of early cognitive functions and serious transformations on these functions shifts across time. Piaget's writings, which favored transformations, are being replaced by writings that emphasize continuities between select cognitive functions of infants and older children. The claim that young infants possess…