Exploring Neuroscience: A Guide for Getting Started

Abstract

Neuroscience becomes more relevant for disciplines pertaining to children's development and education with each passing year. Thus, there is an urgent need for scholars and practitioners in these disciplines to educate themselves about the structure, function, and development of the brain, and to explore the neuroscience literature connected with their areas of professional expertise. A detailed rationale, study strategies, and resources for beginning this process are presented, based on the author's recent experiences. They provide a framework and specific guidelines for those who wish to begin to integrate a neuroscience perspective into their teaching, research, and interactions with the community, and they may arouse the curiosity of those who are not yet interested. Numerous examples of pertinent neuroscience research are included.

I wish to express my deep appreciation to William T. Greenough and his colleagues Kathy Bates, Julie Markham, Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Aaron Grossman, Ivan Jeanne Weiler, James Black, Shawn Kohler, Anna Klintsova, Janice Juraska, and Kara Federmeier for their interest, guidance, and superb conversations about the effect of experience on the brain. I am also grateful to Kent Hutson for assistance in learning about neuroimaging, to Vey M. Nordquist, Joel Lubar, and Gordon Burghardt for information and support, and to Hillary Fouts for suggestions on the writing of the article.

Notes

I wish to express my deep appreciation to William T. Greenough and his colleagues Kathy Bates, Julie Markham, Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Aaron Grossman, Ivan Jeanne Weiler, James Black, Shawn Kohler, Anna Klintsova, Janice Juraska, and Kara Federmeier for their interest, guidance, and superb conversations about the effect of experience on the brain. I am also grateful to Kent Hutson for assistance in learning about neuroimaging, to Vey M. Nordquist, Joel Lubar, and Gordon Burghardt for information and support, and to Hillary Fouts for suggestions on the writing of the article.