Neuroscience of Cognitive Development (eBook)

CHARLES A. NELSON III, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, holds the Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research at Children's Hospital Boston, and is the Director of Research in the Developmental Medicine Center, Children's Hospital Boston. His research is concerned with developmental cognitive neuroscience broadly defined, with specific interests in the effects of early experience on brain-behavior development, in memory development, and in the development of face processing. MICHELLE de HAAN, PhD, is Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Child Health, Birkbeck College, University of London. Dr. de Haan's main area of research is the neural basis of visual recognition and long-term memory. She is the Associate Editor of Developmental Science. KATHLEEN M. THOMAS, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Dr. Thomas applies neurophysiological techniques, such as MRI, to address the interaction among multiple neural systems involved in learning.

Preface.

Introduction: Why should developmental psychologists be
interested in the brain?

1. Brain Development and Neural Plasticity.

2. Neural Plasticity.

3. Methods of Cognitive Neuroscience.

4. The Development of Speech and Language.

5. The Development of Declarative (or Explicit) Memory.

6. The Development of Nondeclarative (or Implicit) Memory.

7. The Development of Spatial Cognition.

8. The Development of Object Recognition.

9. The Development of Social Cognition.

10. The Development of Higher Cognition (Executive)
Funtions.

11. The Development of Attention.

12. The Future of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

References.

Index.

"This book is a welcome addition to an already popular area of research and certainly deserves to become a project to be updated and re-released over the years." (PsycCritiques, April 25, 2007)

"[This proposal] by Charles Nelson, Kathleen Thomas, and Michelle
deHaan is accessible, highly readable, and also very informative."

"The strengths of this manuscript include the content and the
quality of the writing. It is very, very clear. Even difficult
concepts are communicated clearly and concisely (for instance, this
is one of the best treatments of MRI I have ever read)."

--Janet Werker, Univeristy of British Columbia

"I think it is a great project that will make an excellent
textbook. . . . I was very pleased with the way it handled a number
of complex issues. . ."

"This prospectus presents a very readable state-of-the-art
account of the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience."

"I think these two components of the project [connection made
between brain and behavior, explanation of why all developmental
psychologists need to know this material] will ensure its success
as a textbook."--Amy Needham, Duke University

"In my opinion, this book is likely to be a truly outstanding
summary of what is known about the relation between brain
development and cognition. Charles Nelson is the primary authority
on this topic, and Michelle deHaan is also a recognized
authority."

--Judy deLoache, University of Virginia