This article offers some thoughts on possible connections between genomics and education. Genomics is already revolutionizing the way medical care is delivered and distributed; it will inevitably affect children's developmental trajectories by introducing more pharmacological and behavioral therapies. Educators should be prepared to understand the…

The second in a series of three articles concerning children's brain development focuses on the organization of the brain. Aspects of the brain's vertical, neocortex, and temporal organization are discussed and references for further reading are provided. (CJ)

A review of research on brain imaging of developmental stuttering concludes that findings increasingly point to a failure of normal temporal lobe activation during speech that may either contribute to (or is the result of) a breakdown in the sequencing of processing among premotor regions implicated in phonologic planning. (Contains references.)…

Background: Developmental dyscalculia is a heterogeneous disorder with largely dissociable performance profiles. Though our current understanding of the neurofunctional foundations of (adult) numerical cognition has increased considerably during the past two decades, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the developmental pathways of…

When serial neurocognitive assessments are performed, 2 main factors are of importance: test-retest reliability and practice effects. With children, however, there is a third, developmental factor, which occurs as a result of maturation. Child tests recognize this factor through the provision of age-corrected scaled scores. Thus, a ready-made…

Behavioral, neuropsychological, and brain imaging research points to a dedicated system for processing number that is shared across development and across species. This foundational Approximate Number System (ANS) operates over multiple modalities, forming representations of the number of objects, sounds, or events in a scene. This system is…

This paper aims to illustrate how combining multiple approaches can inform us about the neurobiology of ADHD. Converging evidence from genetic, psychopharmacological and functional neuroimaging studies has implicated dopaminergic fronto-striatal circuitry in ADHD. However, while the observation of converging evidence from multiple vantage points…

The human brain appears to have several "regions" that are structured to do different kinds of spatial thinking, according to a large and rapidly growing body of research in a number of disciplines. Building on a previous review of research with older children and adults, this article summarizes the research on spatial thinking by young children.…

The mechanisms of both language-based and non-language-based learning disabilities are presented within the framework of central nervous system development and the compromises to that development that arise from genetic, hormonal, antibody, medication, and postnatal compromises. Also reviewed is the need for a taxonomy of learning disabilities.…

There are few available resources for learning and teaching about ethical issues in neuroimaging research with children, who constitute a special and vulnerable population. Here, a brief review of ethical issues in developmental research, situated within the emerging field of neuroethics, highlights the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of…

This article provides a review and synthesis of concepts, research programs, and measures in the infant and child temperament area. First, the authors present an overview of five classical approaches to the study of child temperament that continue to stimulate research today. Subsequently, the authors carve out key definitional criteria for…

Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) has been in the focus of intensive research over the last 15 years. The syndrome represents a homogeneous model for studying the effect of a decreased dosage of genes on the development of brain structure and function and, consequently, on the emergence of schizophrenia-like psychotic disorder. In this review, we…

In response to a previous paper (EC 212 858) regarding the neurodevelopmental evidence for the basis of dyslexia, this paper offers corroborating evidence of neurological difference in dyslexic persons and stresses the need for more research on brain mechanisms in disorders of reading. (DB)

Research supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grant MH-6415.

The burgeoning interest over recent decades about the human brain, and possible implications for education, has, perhaps not surprisingly, fostered a suite of urban myths about brain functioning. The prize for the barmiest goes to the one about using only 10% of the brain, but there are plenty more that deserve dishonourable mention. The most…