Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Full course description

Course content and structure:

In this course, students will be introduced to the fascinating topic of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Students will learn how we can use neuroscience methods to study the cognitive development of infants, children, and adolescents. We will start by getting to know different methods used in developmental cognitive neuroscience, such as pediatric and infant MRI, EEG, as well as fNIRS. In this context, we will uncover and discuss the benefits and challenges of each approach and the feasibility for studying different age ranges. We will then examine typical brain development as assessed with in vivo MRI (including trajectories of white & gray matter over the life span). Next, we will move on to more specific aspects of cognitive development. Here, we will focus for example on the development of visual processes. For instance, we will learn how learning to read affects the brain and how regions involved in face processing develop throughout childhood to support important social functions such as face recognition.

We will approach these topics using a mix of different formats including a lot of active participation, such as working in subgroups, but also presentations, short lectures & videos.