Discover the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab

Welcome to Dr. Jessica Church-Lang’s Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at The University of Texas at Austin. Our lab researches cognitive development throughout late childhood and early adolescence. We are a dynamic group of researchers, including undergraduate students, who are passionate about kids’ brains and committed to training future scientists.  The lab uses methods such as behavioral testing, activity tracking, surveys, and fMRI to look at how the brain and behavior change over time and how these changes relate to mental health and academic skills. We owe a lot to the diverse and talented graduate and undergraduate students who help to make our research successful. Our current research focuses on the development of control abilities (also known as executive functions) in children with and without mental health difficulties and/or academic difficulties, and the effects of a reading intervention program on bilingual middle school students. We are also starting a new study this spring that investigates learning change over the summer in elementary and middle school-aged kids. We are looking for 4th and 7th graders of all abilities to participate in our research before and after summer break.  Watch our video to learn more about our research, lab members, and how to get involved.