This book celebrates the pioneering work and contributions of Helen J. Neville, who conducted seminal neuroimaging work using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaginf (fMRI) to illustrate the role that experience plays in shaping the brain.
Bringing together her former students, collaborators, and colleagues, the book presents essays and original empirical research that pay tribute to Helen Neville’s groundbreaking work. The chapters discuss her contributions to our knowledge of neuroplasticity in perception, attention, and language, and how they inspired more recent developments in these and related areas, such as work on deafness (changes in sign language processing with age and the effects of cochlear implants on language development), the early stages of reading, memory consolidation during sleep, and the connection between attentional and memory systems. The book also discusses her strong commitment to rigorous science that could be translated into real-world practice through social interventions to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes. It additionally includes short poems by Marta Kutas interspersed between chapters that are inspired by Helen’s work and highlight her contributions, values, and ideas.
The book showcases Helen Neville’s legacy to the field of neuroscience and is a must-read for all students and researchers of neuroplasticity and developmental cognitive neuroscience.
Foreword. Being a Scientist in the Neville Tradition: Ten Things I Learned from Helen Debra L. Mills Introduction Aaron J. Newman & Giordana Grossi Interlude i: Thanks, You Guys! Marta Kutas Chapter 1. Development and plasticity of selective auditory attention in early childhood Amanda Hampton Wray & Elif Isbell Interlude ii: A Big Fat P3 Marta Kutas Chapter 2. Allocation of auditory spatial selective attention in action video game players Julia Föcker, Matin Mortazavi, Wayne Khoe, Steven A. Hillyard, & Daphne Bavelier Interlude iii: Structure and Content Marta Kutas Chapter 3. The roles of age of acquisition, proficiency, and first language on second language processing Annika Andersson & Aaron J. Newman Chapter 4. Exploring the Effects of Aging on Language Abilities in Deaf Signers David P. Corina, Lucinda O’Grady Farnady, Todd LaMarr, Svenna Pedersen, Kurt Winsler, & Laurel Lawyer Chapter 5. Changes in occipito-temporal cortex with literacy: Electrophysiological evidence Giordana Grossi & Elizabeth Sacchi Chapter 6. Reading in deaf individuals: Examining the role of visual word form area Elizabeth A. Hirshorn, Matthew W.G. Dye, Peter Hauser, Ted Supalla, & Daphne Bavelier Interlude iv: One Less Sense Isn’t Nonsense Marta Kutas Chapter 7. Deafness and signed language: Implications of Helen Neville’s neuroplasticity research for children receiving cochlear implants Aaron J. Newman & Mairéad MacSweeney Interlude v: Sound or Sign? Marta Kutas Chapter 8. Making memories last: How sleep promotes neuroplasticity Randolph F. Helfrich & Robert T. Knight Interlude vi: The Importance of Parenting Marta Kutas Chapter 9. Changing Brains for Social Justice Eric Pakulak & Courtney Stevens Interlude vii: A Double-Edged Sword Marta Kutas Chapter 10. Exploring Common Mechanisms of Brain Development and Adult Plasticity in Humans and Rodents Michael I. Posner & Mary K. Rothbart
Aaron J. Newman is Professor at Dalhousie University, Chair of the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, and Director of the NeuroCognitive Imaging Lab. His research program in cognitive neuroscience focuses on how the brain organization for language, hearing, and vision can be altered by experience. Giordana Grossi is Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz and Director of the Brain and Cognition Lab. Her empirical work, which employs both behavioral and electrophysiological measures, explores aspects of automaticity and expertise in visual word recognition in both monolinguals and bilinguals.
