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9 - Brain mechanisms and learning of high level skills

from Part II - Brain development, cognition, and education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

By
Michael I. Posner ,
Mary K. Rothbart  and
M. Rosario Rueda
Edited by
Antonio M. Battro ,
Kurt W. Fischer  and
Pierre J. Léna
Michael I. Posner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology University of Oregon
Mary K. Rothbart
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology University of Oregon
M. Rosario Rueda
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology University of Oregon
Antonio M. Battro
Affiliation:
National Academy of Education, Argentina
Kurt W. Fischer
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Pierre J. Léna
Affiliation:
Université de Paris VII (Denis Diderot)
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Summary

Overview

Two significant scientific contributions, brain images and gene sequences, are helping scientists and educators to understand individual differences in the acquisition of cognitive and emotional skills. Research on brain mechanisms of attention in children and adults shows three independent neuronal networks for alerting, orienting, and executive control in conflict resolution. The authors' attention network test evaluates the efficiency of each of these three systems and reveals clear individual differences, which relate to evaluations of children's ability to regulate their own behavior. Among factors affecting this capacity for regulation are two genes related to the neurotransmitter dopamine, which relate to both performance and activation of a node of the attention network in the anterior cingulate. From early childhood, effortful control of attention plays a role not only in learning but also in socialization and empathy. Understanding attention regulation and its relation to learning will clearly be informative to teachers and parents.

The Editors

Two major developments have greatly altered the prospects for making a connection between common networks of the human brain and theories of how people differ. First, with the development of neuroimaging, we could glimpse inside the human brain as people think (Posner & Raichle, 1994). When combined with electrical or magnetic recording from outside the skull, it was possible to see in real time the circuits involved in computing aspects of a task.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Educated Brain
Essays in Neuroeducation
 , pp. 151 - 165
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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