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Welcome to the Emory Child Study Center in the Department of Psychology! Established in 1998, the Child Study Center explores child development in children from newborn to 17 years in areas ranging from memory and learning to spatial and brain development.

Monthly Insights

MOTIVATION, EMOTION, AND THEIR INFLUENCES ON LEARNING AND MEMORY

by Lucy Cronin-Golomb

featuring work from the LUMeN Lab (PI: Dr. Alexandra Cohen)

The ability to learn from and remember salient information is essential for an individual to survive and thrive throughout life. The LUMeN (Learning, Understanding, Memory, & Neurodevelopment) Lab researches how motivation and emotion impact learning, memory, and brain function across development.  We are currently recruiting participants for two studies: a neuroimaging (fMRI) study and an online study with parent-teen pairs. 
 
Our fMRI study is investigating how real-world reward experiences influence memory and brain function across development. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this study involves kids, teens, and adults aged 10-25 years visiting our lab three times over two years. During all three visits participants complete some surveys, and on the first and third visit they also complete a brain scan. Following the first visit, participants also wear a lab-provided Fitbit and complete brief surveys via SMS text messages every other day for five months. 
 
The online study aims to understand how we share and experience memories, particularly how emotional memories are shared between parents and their adolescent children. In this study, a parent and their 13–18-year-old child each complete surveys describing different life experiences they may have had. 
 
If you are interested in either of these LUMeN lab studies, let us know here! You can also learn more about our work by visiting our website, Instagram, or Facebook.
 
If you are interested in learning more about other research participation opportunities at Emory, sign up for the Child Study Center Database by clicking the "Participant Registration Form" button below. 
 

What makes the LUMeN Lab excited about psychology? 

Psychological science has many potential implications for society and research on brain development is particularly relevant to juvenile justice, education, and mental health policy and practice. Our lab is enthusiastic about public outreach and sharing our science to advance our broader goal of using science to improve outcomes and experiences for young people. Please get in touch with us if you or your organization might be interested in working together to help spread the word about cognitive neuroscience research

 

Welcome to the Monthly Insight, where we aim to give you a peek into the labs that conduct studies with the Child Study Center. What do these studies aim to answer? How do they come to be? Join us as we offer a unique view into the minds of our research teams, where you'll find they may be asking the same questions you do! 

We are now conducting both in-person and online studies. Some studies may allow you to participate from the comfort of home and continue to be a part of our engaging research, or with us in studies conducted at the Emory Child Study Center.