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Carpe Cerebrum: What Neuroscience Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About Giftedness — Pamela Clinkenbeard & Edward M. Hubbard

Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 10:45 am – 12:15 pm, Lawrence D. McHugh Hall, Room MCHU 206

The field of neuroscience is booming worldwide, including research on giftedness, talent, and creativity. But what does brain research really tell educators, psychologists, and parents about working with gifted and talented students? How might the science translate to practice, and what role does neuroscience play in the development of more equitable talent development? This presentation will address what we know (and don’t yet know) about the neuroscience of intelligence and what that research means in practice for gifted students. We will touch on related concepts including parietal-frontal integration, the role of the frontal cortex in fluid reasoning, and neural efficiency. We will summarize briefly the research that examines structural and functional differences in the brains of students who have been identified as gifted based on IQ or specific domain talent, including those who are twice-exceptional. We will then focus on three main research-supported areas of implication for gifted education: the role of neuroplasticity in children’s and adolescents’ talent development; applications of neuroscience research to the development of executive functions; and the critical importance of appropriate challenge.