Coordination Funds

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The Research Unit investigates developmental trajectories in language, (social) cognition and action, their interrelations and relations to the maturation of general cognitive functions and the brain. In an interdisciplinary approach, the research in the projects aims to detect parallels in the development across these different domains and the basic cognitive mechanisms and neural underpinnings that drive developmental changes. Further research is aiming at identifying developmental advancements in one domain that give cross-domain impetus to developmental changes in other domains. The impact of brain maturation and general cognitive skills like memory, attention and cognitive control on the development of specific abilities like segmentation, processing of hierarchical structures and Theory of Mind are further studied. These questions are approached in experimental studies with children from infancy to preschool age that use a broad spectrum of recent research methods covering behavioural and neuro-scientific methods like fNIRS, ERPs and structural MRT in cross-sectional, longitudinal and training studies. The research findings from CROSSING will contribute to the generation of a more comprehensive and integrated approach to human development that considers the complex interplay of the multiple developmental strands that a child passes through during the early development.