BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:How does attentional control matter? Mechanisms and developmental 
 dynamics - Professor Gaia Scerif\, Department of Educational Psychology\, 
 Oxford
DTSTART:20160121T153000Z
DTEND:20160121T163000Z
UID:TALK63607@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Deborah McSkimming
DESCRIPTION:Attentional control plays a crucial role in biasing incoming i
 nformation in favour of what is relevant to further processing\, action se
 lection and specific long-term task goals. However\, assessing these selec
 tive processes over developmental time highlights how attentional processe
 s are best understood not simply as a control homunculus\, but rather as b
 idirectionally influencing and influenced by prior experience. Today I wil
 l focus on two complementary lines of evidence pointing in this direction.
  \n \nThe first line of work centres on children receiving early genetic d
 iagnoses associated with high risk of attention deficits in late childhood
 . The specific molecular pathways implicated in each case point to changes
  in functional gene networks involved in neural development and responsivi
 ty to environmental stimulation\, rather than specific or localised lesion
 -like deficits. A series of longitudinal findings suggest that early group
  and individual differences in attentional processes over developmental ti
 me predict differences from behavioural deficits to classroom outcomes\, a
 nd may therefore be a beneficial endophenotype for early intervention.\n \
 nHowever\, and leading to the second line of investigation\, understanding
  the adverse effects of attentional difficulties also requires studying ho
 w attentional control gates learning over typical development. Distinct as
 pects of attentional control predict concurrent and longitudinal abilities
  related to basic literacy and numeracy in preschoolers and the primary sc
 hool years. In addition\, experimental manipulations highlight change and 
 stability in the interplay between attentional control\, memory and learni
 ng. Children and young adults differ in the extent to which they deploy vi
 suo-spatial attentional control to optimize maintenance in short-term memo
 ry. At the same time\, attentional effects on memory are not unidirectiona
 l: previously learnt information and resistance to distraction during lear
 ning guide later attentional deployment\, in adulthood and in childhood.\n
  \nIn conclusion\, assessing attentional development\, both in populations
  at high risk for attentional difficulties and over typical development\, 
 highlights bidirectional influences between attention\, memory and learnin
 g. I look forward to discussing with you implications for optimal interven
 tion strategies in populations at risk\, as well as theoretical models of 
 typical attention.\n
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre\, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit\, Chaucer
  Road
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR