Our team studies how the brain matures across development. We are particularly interested in understanding how brain changes that happen during adolescence affect social behavior, emotional responses, and cognitive function. Our research focuses on the developmental process in both healthy children and children who have encountered health concerns or emotional difficulties in their lives.
We assess brain activity and behavior in children and adolescents using techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and eyetracking—as well as computer games and questionnaires. We perform both functional imaging (task-based and resting state) and structural imaging (analysis of gray and white matter content).
The Brain Development and Social Cognition Lab works closely with the Neuroimaging Group based in the Center for Biobehavioral Health to develop analytic techniques and maintain the computational infrastructure needed to conduct behavioral and neuroimaging-based science.
