Lise Meitner Research Group Neuroplasticity in Development and Learning

At the start of our lives, we are entirely dependent on the care of others. Yet within just a few years, humans acquire a remarkable range of cognitive abilities that are unparalleled in the animal kingdom. This rapid transformation is made possible by the extraordinary plasticity of the developing brain. The Lise Meitner Research Group Neuroplasticity in Development and Learning is dedicated to understanding the biological foundations of this plasticity and how it supports learning across the lifespan.

Our research focuses on how the human brain is shaped from the earliest stages of life and how these processes enable the emergence of complex skills. We use advanced neuroimaging techniques to study how learning is linked to changes in both brain structure and brain function - from before birth through to adulthood.

We are particularly interested in the following questions:

• How are brain structure and function established at the very beginning of life, and how do they change with the attainment of key developmental milestones?
• How does the brain reorganize when children begin formal education, and how do individual differences in brain structure and function influence learning success?
• How do learning and development interact? Does the heightened plasticity of the developing brain support certain types of learning?

To address these questions, we combine multiple types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data - including structural, diffusion, and functional neuroimaging - with behavioral studies across a wide range of ages, from fetuses and infants to children and adults. This allows us to directly compare how learning is supported by the brain at different stages of life.

Studying the earliest phases of development, however, comes with unique challenges. Imaging the fetal and infant brain requires specialized techniques, as well as new computational tools designed for small, rapidly changing brains. Developing and applying these methods is therefore an important part of our work, enabling us to better capture early brain structure and function.

By studying learning across different stages of life, we aim to build a detailed understanding of how brain and behavior develop together over time. In the long term, this research will help elucidate when the brain is especially receptive to learning, why learning sometimes succeeds or fails, and how learning differences are reflected in the brain.