Building Blocks of Cognition (Bunge Lab)

Dr. Silvia Bunge is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. Professor Bunge directs the Building Blocks of Cognition Laboratory, which draws from the fields of cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, and education research. Researchers in the laboratory examine the neural basis of improvements in high-level cognitive functions (reasoning, memory, and self-regulation) over childhood and adolescence. This research on typical brain development serves as a foundation for the lab’s research on children with brain injury or neurodevelopmental disorders. Professor Bunge’s team conducts intervention research in children and adults in an effort to develop effective ways to promote cognitive skill development and subsequent academic achievement. Finally, through the Frontiers of Innovation, Professor Bunge partners with practitioners to conduct intervention research with young children at high risk for school failure. The lab is funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, a Jacobs Foundation Advanced Career Research Fellowship, and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award. Professor Bunge is on the advisory board of four academic societies that organize conferences related to learning and development: the Latin American School on Education, Cognitive, and Neural Sciences, the International Society for Mind, Brain, and Education, Flux: The International Congress for Integrative Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, and National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, she has helped to create materials that distill the research on brain development for a broad audience of policymakers and practitioners. Professor Bunge has spoken at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, developed a webinar for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C., and participated in a workshop on Neuroscience and Learning for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.