This commentary explains how the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience (DCN) holds the promise of a much wider interdisciplinary integration across sciences concerned with development: psychology, molecular genetics, neurobiology, and evolutionary developmental biology. First we present a brief history of DCN, including the key theoretical…

This article reviews the evidence on the relationship between the two brain hemispheres and creative cognitive processes. It concludes that claims about creativity being "in" one or the other hemispheres represent an uncritical acceptance of naive pseudoscientific beliefs about the brain and brain function. (DB)

This paper proposes a reading model based on the metaphorical usage of neurobiological knowledge. The basic units, organization, and functioning of the Nurogen Model are described. The model's empirical scope is discussed focusing on letter and word perception, theme effects in comprehension, and the influences of text characteristics upon…

Maintains that one future direction for cognitive development research involves a closer integration with knowledge about the developing brain. Presents a framework for analyzing and interpreting postnatal functional brain development. Discusses three contributing hypotheses, within which a variety of phenomena associated with the neural basis of…

In response to a previous paper (EC 212 858) regarding the neurodevelopmental evidence for the basis of dyslexia, this paper suggests further concerns in the areas of cognitive measurement, the relationship between cortical-functional organization and child development, and lack of operational definitions in the study of the dyslexic syndrome. (DB)

An analysis is made of the reciprocal relationship between play and three areas of interaction between the brain and human development: (1) the affective characteristics of play and the brain; (2) developmental theories of cognition and play; and (3) creativity as a continuation of the brain's need for play. (JN)

It has been 20 years since Bever's (1982) and Strauss and Stavy's (1982) books on U-shaped functions in human development were published. The three target articles in this issue describe several old and new U-shaped functions and new theoretical explanations for their existence. In this article, the authors will comment on two aspects of U-shaped…

Research indicates that the brain grows in spurts occurring every two years or so and alternating with plateau periods in which the gains due to growth are consolidated. While the number of brain cells no longer increases after the age of about 18 months, substantial increases in the complexity of neural networks occur generally between the ages…