07.06.2018Talk by Dr. Nora Maria Raschle

From Language to Socio-Emotional Skills

Brain development results from a complex multi-faceted interplay, and many factors promote healthy growth. The time span between early childhood and adolescence marks a particularly sensitive window during which different developmental trajectories are set. This time period also represents the peak time of onset of many developmental and mental health disorders. Nevertheless, pediatric neuroimaging studies in early childhood and adolescence remain scarce.

Dr. Raschle’s work to date has focused on the use of functional and structural neuroimaging techniques for the early characterization and detection of developmental and mental health disorders. In her presentation she will first consider the importance of early brain development for later cognitive skills and mental health. Using a neuroscientific perspective, potential technical and practical challenges of pediatric neuroimaging research are highlighted. Secondly, two applied examples deriving from large-scale neuroimaging studies of typical and atypical language development (e.g. reading and language disorders) and the acquisition of socio-emotional skills (e.g. emotion processing and regulation disorders) will be presented and discussed. Finally, Dr. Raschle will provide her view on the future of pediatric neuroimaging and highlight her endeavours to develop a comprehensive model for the understanding of the neural correlates of language and socio-emotional skills from kindergarten to school.

Flyer (PDF, 79 KB)