Research Description

A distinctive feature of the human brain is its capacity to learn and adapt to an ever-changing environment. What are the factors that promote such learning and brain plasticity? Are some parts of our nervous system more plastic than others, making some skills easier to acquire? Answers to these questions are central to basic science, education, clinical rehabilitation, and aging. To address these questions, my laboratory uses a multidisciplinary approach (behavior, brain imaging, eye tracking, vital statistics) to study how individuals learn and adapt to changes in experience, whether induced by nature (deafness) or training (playing video games). Our work and that of others in the field highlights that, although possible, brain plasticity late in life is highly specific. Overcoming this specificity would be advantageous, and part of my research is now investigating ways to induce more plasticity with more generalized effects with training.