During adolescence, increases in pubertal hormones lead to reproductive maturity as well as changes in cognitive development. Yet, little is known about how to best characterize interindividual differences in hormone concentrations. The goal of the current study was to examine the antecedents and consequences of membership in empirically derived…

Enhanced perception may allow for visual search superiority by individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but does it occur over time? We tested high-functioning children with ASD, typically developing (TD) children, and TD adults in two tasks at three presentation rates (50, 83.3, and 116.7 ms/item) using rapid serial visual presentation.…

Cognitive impairment is common among children born very preterm (VPT), yet little is known about how this risk changes over time. To examine this issue, a regional cohort of 110 VPT (= 32 weeks gestation) and 113 full-term (FT) born children was prospectively assessed at ages 4, 6, 9, and 12 years using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of…

Attention induces synchronicity in neuronal firing for the encoding of a given stimulus at the exclusion of others. Recently, we reported decreased variability in scalp-recorded cortical evoked potentials to attended compared with ignored speech in adults. Here we aimed to determine the developmental time course for this neural index of auditory…

Increased ADHD symptomology and lower IQ have been reported in internationally adopted (IA) children compared to non-adopted peers (Hostinar, Stellern, Schaefer, Carlson & Gunnar, 2012; Kreppner, O'Connor & Rutter, 2001). However, it is unclear whether these outcomes are due to institutional deprivation specifically or to co-occurring…

Following recent legislative initiatives in education requiring evidence-based practices, schools have implemented various instructional programs characterized as "evidence-based." However, it is important to question whether these methods are truly effective. One example of a methodology currently promoted and used in schools is an…

Recent research suggests that brain development follows an abnormal trajectory in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study examined changes in diffusivity with age within defined white matter tracts in a group of typically developing children and a group of children with an ASD, aged 6 to 14 years. Age by group interactions…

Controversy still exists over whether there is a magnocellular deficit associated with developmental dyslexia. Here we utilised a magnocellular system-biased phantom contour form discrimination task defined by high temporal frequency contrast reversals to compare contrast sensitivity in a group of children with dyslexia and an age- and nonverbal…

Automatic stimulus-change detection is usually investigated in the auditory modality by studying Mismatch Negativity (MMN). Although the change-detection process occurs in all sensory modalities, little is known about visual deviance detection, particularly regarding the development of this brain function throughout childhood. The aim of the…

Research Findings: Two exploratory studies explored young children's views of brain function and whether these views can be modified through exposure to a brief classroom intervention. In Study 1, children aged 4-13 years reported that the brain is used for "thinking," although older children were more likely than younger children to…

Objective: Research on the neurobiology of parenting has defined "biobehavioral synchrony," the coordination of biological and behavioral responses between parent and child, as a central process underpinning mammalian bond formation. Bi-parental rearing, typically observed in monogamous species, is similarly thought to draw on mechanisms of…

Over the course of several years of research, the authors have employed psychophysics, electrophysiological (ERP) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to study the development and neuroplasticity of the human brain. During this time, they observed that different brain systems and related functions display markedly different degrees or…

Failure to develop normal language comprehension is an early warning sign of autism, but the neural mechanisms underlying this signature deficit are unknown. This is because of an almost complete absence of functional studies of the autistic brain during early development. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we previously observed a trend…

This study was conducted to determine whether school-aged children who had experienced a perinatal stroke demonstrate evidence of persistent spatial neglect, and if such neglect was specific to the visual domain or was more generalized. Two studies were carried out. In the first, 38 children with either left hemisphere (LH) or right hemisphere…

Patients with traumatic brain injury show clear impairments in behavioural flexibility and inhibition that often persist beyond the time of injury, affecting independent living and psychosocial functioning. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that patients with traumatic brain injury typically show increased and more broadly…