Learning

Investigating Connectivity

Researchers share progress on the effects of altering synaptic connections in the brain at a symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences.

A Study of Motivation

It’s difficult to know what motivates people, but R. Alison Adcock’s lab is using imaging to study how states like desire and curiosity can facilitate “motivated memory"

Music, Art, and Cognitive Benefit: Separating Fact from Fallacy

Dana grantee Elizabeth Spelke discusses her recent study on the effects of music classes on math abilities in children

Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain

Learning, Arts, and the Brain

Play, Stress, and the Learning Brain

In this article, adapted from Dr. Sam Wang and Dr. Sandra Aamodt’s book Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College (Bloomsbury USA, 2011; OneWorld Publications, 2011), the authors explore how play enhances brain development in children. As Wang and Aamodt describe, play activates the brain’s reward circuitry but not negative stress responses, which can facilitate attention and action. Through play, children practice social interaction and build skills and interests to draw upon in the years to come.

The Science of Education

Discoveries about how the brain learns are fueling interest in applying neuroscience in the classroom. In the new field of neuroeducation, scientists and educators should join forces to develop goals for learning-related research, the authors argue.

What Can Dance Teach Us about Learning?

An action such as a dance move activates the same brain circuitry whether we perform it ourselves or watch someone else perform it, research indicates. This “action observation network” is important for learning.