Learning in the developing mind and brain: understanding memory systems and environmental influences

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The long-term goal of the proposed research is to understand how the slow, asynchronous but highly orchestrated development of neural systems limits and enables learning and memory. This question is fundamental to understanding the nature of learning during childhood and to knowing why there are age-related limits on learning (i.e., sensitive periods). Two short-term objects are proposed. Objective 1 is to characterize how the interplay between memory systems changes with cognitive and brain development, asking first if there are asynchronies in the development of classic memory systems and their component processes (gating information into and out of memory), and second if the interplay between systems changes with development. Objective 2 is to understand which patterns of cognitive and neural development are associated with the best outcomes in learning and memory and how this is shaped by the environment. ***To achieve these objectives, children ages 8 to 18 years will be invited to the lab to complete a series of behavioral experiments and an MRI scan. The behavioral tasks that children will complete are designed to measure developmental changes in memory systems as well as their interactions; the MRI scan will measure children's brain function and structure. Changes in ability will be related to changes in brain function and structure across children, answering foundational questions about how changes in the brain support changes in these core memory systems. To approach this same question more causally and link brain changes to learning outcomes, a large group of additional 8 year olds will be recruited to follow-up with at 2 year intervals; this longitudinal sample of children will be asked to complete an additional series of learning studies; half of the longitudinal sample will be from high or middle socioeconomic backgrounds and half will be from lower-income backgrounds. This design will allow the comparison of age-related changes in groups from different environments, answering questions about the applicably of science to children from diverse environments and informing notions about the duration of openness to environmental input (or plasticity) in different environments. ***This research can be transformed into recommendations about how information should be structured for successful learning by Canadian children of different ages. It will moreover inform directional hypothesis about which brain changes are associated with gains in ability. This will provide insight into mechanisms of plasticity, illuminating whether delayed or accelerated maturation of certain brain regions (and behavioral abilities) is associated with greater success in learning. This work will moreover unveil the role of environment in shaping these relationships and indicate whether developmental patterns that are identified in convenient samples also apply to disadvantaged children. **