Students suffering from mental health issues, whether temporary or chronic, experience lower activation in the reward pathway, designed to motivate behavior, and struggle to complete assignments. #teach #education #neuroscience #chemicalimbalance

Students experiencing chemical imbalances show reduced activation of the ventral pallidum, which provides the final reward signal from the nucleus accumbens in motivating behavior.

A student’s homeostasis might play a role in his ability to maintain motivation to complete tasks, especially in the face of aversive conditions.

The role success plays in student motivation.

Join me at the second annual Livingston County Parent Summit. #parent #technology #neuroscience

They concluded that incidental social feedback from human faces profoundly shapes learning during adolescence. #empathy #education #teacher #neuroscience

Using magnetoencephalography, they observed that smiling faces enhanced neural activity in auditory and social-cognitive brain regions, whereas frowning faces reduced neural activity, even in sensory and task-relevant regions.

Kuhl and colleagues found that the empathy process directly affects learning during adolescence. They also found that social feedback conveyed through human faces influences language processing.

Join me in Orlando. Register today. #innovativeschoolssummit #education #teacher #conference

Takeuchi and colleagues found that higher childhood socioeconomic status is robustly associated with better psychometric intelligence, including reasoning, memory, and problem-solving, which underlie IQ. #SES #education #neuroscience

Researchers have found that the single most potent predictor of gaps in educational achievement is the extent to which students attend schools surrounded by other low-income students. #education #poverty #neuroscience

Join me at the Innovative Schools Summit Orlando, March 12-15, 2026, at the Marriott World Center. https://t.co/rNMfDA3zWt #conference #education #teachers

Adolescence is a dynamic period of brain development marked by profound changes in learning, decision-making, and higher-order cognition. What is often overlooked is that areas of interest during this period have a profound impact on the brain's future trajectory. #teens

“I love your book, The Poverty Problem.” - Jen Perry, Senior Manager of Learning Design #books #education #neuroscience #Poverty

Temperament, high-risk environments, and trauma can all alter the level of emotion required to override the cortex. In other words, the most vulnerable students are at risk of consistently responding in ways that reduce good outcomes. #SEL #neuroscience #education

Your ability to avoid emotional responses predicts how often the amygdala reaches an arousal level that reduces cortical input. High emotional responses trigger the release of cortisol & adrenaline, disrupting the prefrontal cortex's input & impairing rational thought & response.

The average time to acquire a new language in a total-immersion setting is 2 years. If additional support in their primary language is provided during this period, the second language can emerge at grade level with increased cognitive capacity. #teach #neuroscienc #ESL

Viewing second-language learners through a deficit lens may contribute to poor outcomes. New language acquisition learners begin to experience structural neuroplasticity, including increased gray matter density & strengthened white matter connectivity in language-related regions.

I am excited to serve as a visiting faculty member for the Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, at the upcoming continuing education program. School Mental Health, Treating Students K-12, Feb 6 - 7, 2026, in Boston, MA.

Although the results have been mixed, the work reflects a concerted effort to integrate educational neuroscience research with real-world practice. #teach #neuroscience