This research brief explores how emotions and relationships drive learning and are a fundamental part of how our brains develop. The authors explain how emotionally safe and cognitively stimulating environments contribute to brain development; how brain development that supports learning depends on social experiences; and how sensitive periods in…

Brain imaging studies have demonstrated that psychotherapy alters brain structure and function. Learning and memory, both implicit and explicit, play central roles in this process through the creation of new genetic material that leads to increased synaptic efficiency through the creation of new neuronal connections. Although there is substantial…