Iroise Dumontheil is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London and member of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience. Her research focuses on the typical development of social cognition and cognitive control during adolescence and their functioning in adulthood.
Her studies combine a variety of methods to study brain and cognitive development including functional and structural neuroimaging, cognitive and behavioural assessments, and genetics. She is interested in the impact of cognitive training, from computerised games to mindfulness meditation practice, on child and adolescent cognition, as well as the potential implications of these various research strands for education.
Keynote presentation
'The adolescent brain'
Adolescence represents a period of acute physical and socio-emotional change, as well as of changes in brain structure and function. Socio-emotional processing becomes intensified, which renders emotional and attentional regulation more difficult. Increasing independence and improvements in social cognitive skills are accompanied with heightened sensitivity to the social context and peer opinion, which can affect reasoning and risk-taking.
Adolescents also have improving abstract thinking capabilities and can quickly shift priorities according to the social and motivational context. This may allow high cognitive engagement and creative approaches in situations where they are highly motivated to learn. While research has tended to focus on studying developmental trends, there are significant individual differences in brain development, behaviour, academic and mental health outcomes.
As the education system is partly responsible for cultivating healthy young people, a range of interventions which have been found to be successful in improving self-regulation in both children and adolescents will be discussed.
A live panel discussion where delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions on themes discussed in the keynote video The adolescent brain. Our speaker will also be able to answer questions on other areas of their research expertise.