PEN Distinguished Lecture Series

The PEN Distinguished Lecture Series in Educational Neuroscience was created in association with the Foundations Proseminar course for graduate students in the Ph.D. in Educational Neuroscience (PEN) program. Since its inception, the series has grown!

The lecture series focuses on the intersection of the Science of Learning (learning across the lifespan) and Educational Neuroscience (learning across early life). Scientists and researchers who are pioneers in the fields of Cognitive-Educational Neuroscience, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, and Child Development come to Gallaudet University's campus to talk about their research.

Register for Upcoming Lectures

All lectures are open to the public and are video recorded for online distribution.

PEN DLS brochure for 2023-2024

04 Apr 2024Feelings are the Source of ConsciousnessDr. Antonio Damasio (Upcoming!)
29 Feb 2024Functional Imaging of the Human Brain: A Window into the Architecture of the Human MindDr. Nancy Kanwisher
08 Feb 2024Exploring the Role of Visual Language Skills in Reading Development in Deaf ChildrenDr. Mairead MacSweeney
16 Nov 2023Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Science TalkDr. Oliver Rollins
19 Oct 2023Dynamics of Communication in Infant's LivesDr. Casey Lew-Williams
21 Sep 2023Braille and Science of Reading: Research, Diversity, and EngagementDr. Robert Englebretson
20 Apr 2023Emotional brain development and the role of parenting Dr. Nim Tottenham
09 Mar 2023Building meaning builds teens’ brainsDr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
17 Nov 2022The myths and truths of the creative brainDr. Anna Abraham
27 Oct 2022The neurobiology of reading in deaf and hearing adults Dr. Karen Emmorey
29 Sep 2022Vulnerable but not represented: Vascular depression as an illustration of the need for diversity in clinical neuroscience researchDr. Vonetta Dotson
07 Apr 2022Systems neuroscience models of numerical cognition and learning disabilitiesDr. Vinod Menon
10 Mar 2022Socioeconomic inequality and children’s brain developmentDr. Kimberly Noble
02 Dec 2021Genes, brains, and spatial representation: Evidence from Williams syndromeDr. Barbara Landau
04 Nov 2021Developing a theory of mind: Insights from fMRI studies of childrenDr. Hilary Richardson
07 Oct 2021Project Baby X: Bringing technology to lifeDr. Mark Sagar
22 Apr 2021Spaceflight and Spatial Orientation: The Role that Gravity PlaysDr. Millard F. Reschke
25 Mar 2021Educating for brain health and humanityDr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone
18 Feb 2021Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in the Era of Big DataDr. Damien Fair
03 Dec 2020Little liars: How children learn to tell liesDr. Kang Lee
22 Oct 2020Iconicity and Human LanguagesDr. Carol Padden
21 Nov 2019Amodal neurolinguistic and cognitive representations: Evidence from prosody and number concepts in ASL signers and English speakersDr. Marie Coppola
19 Sep 2019The neuroscience of dyslexia: From a deficit model to models that extend to cognitive and socio-emotional aspects to promote resilience and successDr. Fumiko Hoeft
21 Feb 2019Overcoming anxiety about mathDr. Sian Beilock
25 Nov 2018Contemporary Neuroscientific Contributions to the Study of Childhood PovertyDr. Sebastian Lipina
25 Oct 2018The ‘Mirror’ BrainDr. Giacomo Rizzolatti
12 Apr 2018Constructive memory and imagining the futureDr. Daniel L. Schacter
22 Feb 2018Impacting early acoustic mapping in infants: Translational strategies can alter the course of language learning disorders.Dr. April Benasich
01 Feb 2018How not to fool yourself with p-value and other statisticsDr. Regina Nuzzo
15 Nov 2017The languages of the brainDr. Stanislas Dehaene
07 Nov 2017The human infant brain: A neural architecture able to learn languageDr. Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz
05 Oct 2017Where did language come from? Evolutionary precursor mechanisms in the brain of nonhuman primatesDr. Josef Rauschecker
23 Feb 2017The new neuroscience of “two”: Communicating eye-to-eyeDr. Joy Hirsch
16 Feb 2017Minds, brains and how children learn: From infants to societyDr. Andrew Meltzoff
10 Nov 2016How does a difference in sensory input change a person's development?Dr. Marina Bedny
15 Sep 2016What Happens to Infants who are Abandoned?Dr. Nathan Fox
18 Feb 2016Using Spatial Learning to Increase STEM AchievementDr. Nora Newcombe
02 Dec 2015Learning to Move and Moving to LearnDr. Karen E. Adolph
28 Sep 2015Living in Pasteur’s Quadrant: Navigating the Uncharted Waters Between Basic and Applied ResearchDr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Golinkof
20 Nov 2014How Language Experience Shapes the BrainDr. Denise Klein
25 Sep 2014Number Symbols in the Brain and MindDr. Daniel Ansari
03 Apr 2014Constraint-based Error Patterns in ASL Sentence ProcessingTed Supalla
03 Mar 2014Educational Neuroscience as Situated PracticeTom Humphries
13 Feb 2014Sensitive Periods and Developmental Plasticity for Language LearnersElissa Newport
06 Feb 2014Educational Neuroscience of Reading DevelopmentBruce McCandliss
21 Nov 2013Individual Differences in Literacy Skills Among Deaf ReadersMatt Traxler
24 Oct 2013Planning for Bimodal and Bilingual Success in Young Deaf and Hard of Hearing ChildrenLaurene Simms and Susanne Scott
10 Apr 2013Bridging Cognitive Neuroscience and Education: Insights from Development of Reading, Math, and Selective AttentionBruce McCandliss
14 Mar 2013How Early Intervention Can Make a Difference: Research and TrendsBeth Benedict
30 Jan 2013Using Multi-Level Models to Investigate Language ProcessingMatt Traxler
08 Nov 2012Child First: Bringing Upon Quality Education of the Deaf for Today and TomorrowRonald Stern
24 Oct 2012Teachers’ Perceptions of the Use of ASL Phonological Instruction to Develop ASL and English Literacy in an ASL/English Bilingual PreschoolPeter Crume
12 Sep 2012The Brain Might Read That WayDJ Bolger, PhD
18 Apr 2012Unlocking the grammatical system of SELF: A functional descriptionErin Wilkinson
05 Apr 2012Developmental signed language disorders: considering visual cognitionDavid Quinto-Pozos
21 Mar 2012Laterality of Motion and Orientation Discrimination in Deaf and Hearing SubjectsRain Bosworth
01 Mar 2012American Sign Language and Early InterventionKristin Snoddon
15 Feb 2012Visual recognition of faces and words: Two sides of the same brain?David Plaut
02 Feb 2012Neuroimaging studies of Reading and Language Development: An update on recent findingsKenneth Pugh
09 Nov 2011The Spaces in BetweenTali Krakowsky
27 Oct 2011How Self-Editing Improves the Writing Performance of Signing Adolescent Deaf StudentsThangi Appanah
12 Oct 2011Three Revolutions: Advancing new discoveries and change in society through scientific insights from Linguistics, Culture, and Biology.Laura-Ann Petitto
29 Sep 2011Tools for ThoughtBarbara Tversky
14 Apr 2011Assessing ASL DevelopmentCharlotte Enns
30 Mar 2011The Cognitive Neuroscience of Reading: Associations between Print and FingerspellingKaren Emmorey
10 Mar 2011Eye Gaze and Attention in Deaf Children's Early YearsAmy Lieberman
23 Feb 2011Developing a Toolkit for the Assessment of Deaf IndividualsThomas Allen & Donna Morere
10 Feb 2011Lexical Recognition in American Sign Language: Comparisons of Sign and Gesture RecognitionDavid Corina
10 Nov 2010The Interaction between Spatial Language and Spatial Cognition in Signers: Evolutionary, Cross-Linguistic, and Development PerspectivesJennie E. Pyers
27 Oct 2010Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? Is it a Word? Neural Mechanisms of Object RecognitionMaximilian Riesenhuber
13 Oct 2010A Case Study of Extended Discourse in an ASL/English Preschool ClassroomRaychelle Harris
15 Sep 2010I See What You Mean: Teaching Deaf Students to Visualize English GrammarKristin Di Perri
25 Mar 2010Tracking the Development of Language and Discourse Skills of ASL-competent ChildrenLon Kuntze
10 Mar 2010Sentence Processing in L2 Readers: Linguistic and Experience-based FactorsPaola (Giuli) Dussias
11 Nov 2009Deaf Children’s Acquisition of Novel Fingerspelled WordsAmy Hile
11 Nov 2009The Linguistic Foundations of Reading: Insights from Readers who SignRachel Mayberry
05 Nov 2009Audio-visual Integration in Children with a Cochlear ImplantJacqueline Leybaert
29 Oct 2009Literacy Development of Deaf ChildrenCarol Conner
14 Oct 2009Scientists with Dyslexia Exhibit Visuospatial StrengthsMatthew Schneps
01 Oct 2009Language and Theory of Mind in Deaf Children: What We Know and What it MeansBrenda Schick
11 Mar 2009Brain Plasticity and Learning: Lessons from DeafnessDaphne Bavelier
11 Mar 2009Crossdisciplinary Corpus-Based ASL ResearchCarol Neidle
26 Feb 2009How We Make Sense of Signs: Sign Perception and Recognition by Native and Non-native SignersJill Morford
19 Nov 2008Impact of Deaf Parents on College Students' Self Perceptions of their Cognitive ControlPeter Hauser
19 Nov 2008Gesture's Role in Creating and Learning LanguageSusan Goldin-Meadow
06 Nov 2008Gestures and Multimodal Communication in Great ApesAmy Pollick
22 Oct 2008Black ASL: Socio-Historical FoundationsCeil Lucas, Carolyn McCaskill, Joseph Hill, Roxanne Dummett, Pam Baldwin
09 Oct 2008Computer-Assisted Analysis of Visual-Facial GesturesDimitris Metaxas
17 Sep 2008Becoming a Visual Learner: The Role of Visual Language Interaction in Young Deaf Children’s LivesJenny Singleton
16 Apr 2008Visual Gaze as a Marker of Attention in the ClassroomJeff Pelz
09 Apr 2008The Effect of Sensory Experience and Language on the Neural Signature of ReadingGuinevere Eden and Daniel Koo
12 Mar 2008Cross-modal plasticity resulting from early profound deafnessMatt Dye
28 Feb 2008Gesture and the development of visuo-spatial skills in ASL as a second languageSusan Mather, Dennis Galvan, and Pilar Pinar
13 Feb 2008Elements of skill crucial for deaf readers: what we know, what we don't know, and promise (not promises) for the future.Leonard Kelly and Dragana Barac-Cikoja
31 Jan 2008Grant Writing ProcessJacqueline Buckley
28 Nov 2007The role of phonology in the perception of ASLGaurav Mathur
08 Nov 2007Large-Scale Academic Achievement Testing of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students: Past, Present, and FutureSen Qi and Ross Mitchell
11 Oct 2007Acquisition of Sign Language Challenges Linguistic TheoryDeborah Pichler