• to explicate the normal development of attention and goal-directed action,
• to understand the nature of impairments in these processes children and adolescents with psychiatric and neurological disorders, and
• to delineate the role of these impairments in the development and maintenance of the disorders,
• and to design cognitive training programs to prevent or to ameliorate impairments in the disorders.

Recent Research

We have recently finished a set of studies of 9- to 18-year-olds with ADHD or youth-onset psychosis in which we collected data on cognitive processes, medical and developmental history, and brain structure.  The studies were conducted in collaboration with Tonya White, M.D., from the Department of Psychiatry and were funded by grants from NIMH (The National Institutes on Mental Health), the Center for Neurobehavioral Development (CNBD) at the University of Minnesota, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD).  .

New Studies

In collaboration with Herb Pick, Ph.D., from ICD, we are currently conducting a study on the development of skilled action.  In this study, we are using a digitized tablet to investigate the kinematics of fine motor movements as individuals learn new motor skills.  We are currently recruiting healthy young adults and preschoolers for this study.  In the future, we hope to extend this research to clinical and at-risk populations.

This page was last modified on 02/20/2009