Projects Overview

The overall goal of our research is to understand mechanisms of brain development. The theoretical framework guiding our research is that development should be associated with age-related increases in specialization of and interaction between brain regions. In other words, the brain should segregate into regions with unique computational principles but these regions should also become more integrated.

We use multimodal neuroimaging to understand the developmental process including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and event-related potentials (ERPs). In addition to examining typical populations, our work also investigates atypical conditions such as dyslexia (reading disability), dyscalculia (math disability) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It, therefore, has direct implications for the diagnosis and treatment of developmental disorders.