The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a national exam often used by educators, politicians, and parents to decide how well the nation’s schoolchildren are learning their three R’s. A recent NAEP report reveals a disturbing trend: reading scores have not significantly improved since 1971. This stagnation in the NAEP reading scores is accompanied…
It is well known that, compared to adults, children tend to have a much easier time learning new languages and acquiring new skills, such as playing an instrument. A recent study of brain development in children suggests that there may be an anatomical reason for the ease with which children are able to acquire these…
The decision to medicate a child with a behavioral disorder is a complex one that involves many discussions between the child’s parents, teachers, and physicians. In the case of children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), parents are placing increasing trust in a drug called Ritalin. Much of this trust is based on the…
Of the five senses, taste seems to be the one that we take personally. People will identify themselves as having a “sweet tooth” as opposed to being a “salt junky”. Many cultures are defined on the basis of their traditional cuisine–we often are more familiar with a country’s basic dishes than we are with its…
Recent studies of brain development in teenagers may finally give parents the scientific authority to say “No you’re not!” in answer to the common adolescent complaint, “But I’m old enough to make my own decisions!” That authority comes from brain imaging studies that reveal some surprising features of the adolescent brain. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and colleagues…
Sleep debt has become a common phrase in health news recently, as many different research studies have shown that insufficient amounts of sleep can have lasting negative impacts on health. A new report published in the journal Nature provides some of the first evidence of how the brain changes its activity in response to sleep…
