Beatriz Luna (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)
Changes in brain processes underlying the maturation of cognitive control through adolescence

This speaker is being co-sponsored by the Child Study Center and the Neuroscience Department at Penn State University

Dr. Luna will be hosted by Laureen Teti and Rick Gilmore

Abstract:  Cognitive control, also known as executive function, is what allows us to have goal-directed behavior and what defines us as adults with willful actions. Although evidence for cognitive control is present early in development, it continues to improve through adolescence. Concurrent with this development of behavior are important brain maturational processes. While the gross morphology of the brain is in place early in childhood, important processes such as synaptic pruning and myelination continue into adolescence optimizing efficiency and functional integration supporting the computational processes needed for reliable cognitive control. I will present behavioral and fMRI studies that provide insight into the mechanisms underlying this latter part of development when we are reaching adult-level cognitive control of behavior. Our studies are based on neuroscience methods using cognitively-guided oculomotor responses to characterize response inhibition, reward processing, and error detection as well as DTI measures of white matter integrity. Our results indicate that there are still important immaturities in cognitive control during adolescence that may underlie limitations in decision making.

Questions? Want to meet with the speaker?

Contact Rick Gilmore, rogilmore@psu.edu