Title: Development of memory mechanisms support an adaptive extension of knowledge
Christine Coughlin, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago
Abstract: Memories for past events form the basis of our life story. However, they also serve as building blocks through which we acquire and extend knowledge. By combining information across different experiences, we are often able to extend knowledge beyond what we directly observe. My talk will present a sample of studies examining when and how children develop the ability to use memories as building blocks for forms of knowledge extension. Across several experiments, I will show how memories are used to guide future event imagination and reasoning at different ages. Using a combination of computational modeling and functional MRI, I will then link the development of knowledge extension to the maturation of hippocampus and frontoparietal cortex. The overarching goal of this work is to uncover the neurocognitive mechanisms that support children’s developing ability to use memories for constructive, adaptive purposes.