Human Behavior, Learning, and the Developing Brain

Donna Coch, EdD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Dartmouth College. She earned a doctoral degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Oregon. Dr. Coch’s research focuses on what happens in the brain as children learn how to read, particularly in terms of phonological and orthographic processing. A goal of both her research and teaching is to make meaningful connections between the fields of developmental cognitive neuroscience and education. Geraldine Dawson, PhD, is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine at Duke University and founding Director of the Duke Center for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment. A clinical psychologist and award-winning researcher, Dr. Dawson has published more than 200 articles and chapters and 9 books on early detection and treatment of autism and brain development. With Sally J. Rogers, she developed the Early Start Denver Model, the first empirically validated comprehensive intervention for toddlers with autism. She served as the first Chief Science Officer for Autism Speaks, the largest autism science and advocacy organization. Before joining the Duke faculty, Dr. Dawson served as Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and, prior to that, as Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington and Founding Director of the University of Washington Autism Center. A Fellow of the American Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association, Dr. Dawson is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Psychological Science and awards for Valuable Service and Research Contributions from the Autism Society of America. Her books include the coauthored Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism, An Early Start for Your Child with Autism and A Parent's Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism.Kurt W. Fischer, PhD, is Charles Bigelow Professor of Education and Human Development at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and founder and director of the program in Mind, Brain, and Education. He studies cognitive and emotional development from birth through adulthood, combining analysis of the commonalities across people with the diversity of pathways of learning and development. Dr. Fischer is the author of several books and over 200 scientific articles, and is founding president of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society and editor of its journal Mind, Brain, and Education.

"In this valuable collection, leading scientists present the latest findings about the biological bases of developmental disorders, including dyslexia, autism, and attentional deficits. The book also includes early markers for these disorders, as well as appropriate educational interventions."--Howard Gardner, PhD, Harvard Graduate School of Education "The exciting interdisciplinary venture of clinical developmental cognitive neuroscience has come of age with this volume. More and more students from the behavioral sciences are eager to learn how brain, cognition, and behavior are linked. In this book, they will find that the atypically developing brain tells us more about human learning and human behavior than the typically developing brain ever reveals. But atypical development, as seen in autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or Williams syndrome, is also fascinating in its own right. The stellar array of authors represented in this volume guarantees that the reader will be provided with state-of-the-art information about neurodevelopmental disorders. No undergraduate or graduate course on the topic can do without this book."--Uta Frith, PhD, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University College London "Contributors in this important volume utilize multiple levels of analysis in order to more fully explicate the interplay between typical and atypical developmental processes. In synthesizing the fields of cognitive and affective neuroscience and developmental psychopathology, the book presents novel conceptual and methodological tools for studying adaptive, maladaptive, and resilient developmental outcomes. This book is an essential addition to the libraries of neuroscientists, developmental psychopathologists, and graduate students in related disciplines."--Dante Cicchetti, PhD, Institute of Child Development and Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota "These twin volumes beautifully document how much recent progress there has been in the new field of developmental cognitive neuroscience. Presenting a very clear exposition of the close links between typical and atypical development at multiple levels of analysis, the books will be of value to anyone who studies human development or applies developmental knowledge."--Bruce F. Pennington, PhD, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, University of Denver "It is exceedingly difficult to keep up with the rapidly changing area of human cognitive development, learning, and the brain. Now, in this pair of volumes, leading contributors summarize our current understanding of normal and atypical development across the cognitive and emotional spectrum. These volumes will sit near many desks, including mine."--Howard Gardner, PhD, Harvard Graduate School of Education - A fascinating introduction to the rapidly developing field of developmental cognitive neuroscience and its implications for advancing our understanding of developmental psychopathology. It should be particularly valuable in orienting graduate students to exciting new possibilities for increasing understanding and remediation of debilitating disabilities that have eluded researchers' efforts to solve the mysteries that limit the quality of life of untold numbers of children and adults. --PsycCRITIQUES, 6/17/2010ƒƒ This book provides a useful description of research describing brain-behavior relationships in individuals with certain specific developmental disorders. --Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 8/3/2010ƒƒ Provides a sophisticated review of current knowledge regarding particular syndromes and does so through a variety of experimental and clinical perspectives. --Doody's Review Service, 6/17/2010

• 1. A Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Approach to the Study of Atypical Development: A Model System Involving Infants of Diabetic Mothers, Charles A. Nelson 2. Development of Social Brain Circuitry in Autism, Geraldine Dawson and Raphael Bernier 3. Brain Mechanisms Underlying Social Perception Deficits in Autism, Kevin A. Pelphrey and Elizabeth J. Carter 4. Williams Syndrome: A Model Developmental Syndrome for Exploring Brain–Behavior Relationships, Helen Tager-Flusberg and Daniela Plesa Skwerer 5. Triangulating Developmental Dyslexia: Behavior, Brain, and Genes, Elena L. Grigorenko 6. Typical Reading Development and Developmental Dyslexia across Languages, Usha Goswami 7. Neurocognitive Correlates of Developmental Verbal and Orofacial Dyspraxia, Frederique Liegeois, Angela Morgan, and Faraneh Vargha-Khadem 8. Relation between Early Measures of Brain Responses to Language Stimuli and Childhood Performance on Language and Language-Related Tasks, Dennis L. Molfese, Victoria J. Molfese, and Peter J. Molfese 9. Number Sense and Developmental Dyscalculia, Anna J. Wilson and Stanislas Dehaene 10. Central Nervous System Substrates of Impulsivity: Implications for the Development of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Conduct Disorder, Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp and Theodore P. Beauchaine 11. Social Regulation of the Adrenocortical Response to Stress in Infants, Children, and Adolescents: Implications for Psychopathology and Education, Emma K. Adam, Bonnie Klimes-Dougan, and Megan R. Gunnar 12. Child Maltreatment and the Development of Alternate Pathways in Biology and Behavior, Catherine C. Ayoub and Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann 13. Corticolimbic Circuitry and Psychopathology: Development of the Corticolimbic System, Francine M. Benes