Overview
Research in our laboratory examines the functional neurobiology and development of learning and memory in infants and children using a combination of behavioral methods (e.g., eye tracking, preferential-looking) and high-density event-related potentials (ERPs). We are particularly interested in the functional development of the hippocampal memory system supporting declarative (explicit) memory, and the roles that attention, motivation, and emotion play in early learning. The long-term goal of this work is to understand how the brain systems involved in learning (e.g., attention, motivation, memory) become organized during development, the role that experience may play in shaping these systems, and how the development of functional interactions between different neural subsystems affects the emergence of new cognitive function during ontogeny.