The developing brain: From theory to neuroimaging and back

ABSTRACTSurprisingly little headway has been made towards understanding how brain growth maps onto mental growth during child development. This review aims at bridging and integrating recent human neuroscientific brain maturation findings with the conceptual thinking of theorists in the behavioural tradition of studying cognitive development. Developmental research in the field of internal control and self-regulation serves as a reference point for understanding the relation between brain maturation and mental growth. Using several recent neuroimaging findings as points in case, we show how a deeper appreciation of structural and functional neural development can be obtained from considering the traditional conceptual frameworks, and vice versa. We conclude that paradigmatic progress in developmental neuroscience can rely more on knowledge from developmental experimental psychology, and that developmental models of cognitive development can be constrained and articulated with more precision on the basis of knowledge of differential structural and functional brain maturation.

Research highlights▸ A description of neuroscience findings and classic theories of cognitive development. ▸ A review of working memory research as an illustrative point from two perspectives. ▸ Shortcomings of prior research in mergence of neuroscience and developmental theory. ▸ Suggestions and starting points for crosstalk in future research, which can be applied to other domains as well.