Changing Brains

This volume honors Helen J. Neville, whose neuroimaging research used electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show how experience shapes the brain. Its contributors are her former students, collaborators and colleagues, who gathered to recognize her career.

The book combines essays with original empirical research. The chapters trace her findings on neuroplasticity in perception, attention and language, and show how those ideas have informed later work. Topics include deafness, specifically how sign language processing changes with age and how cochlear implants affect language development; the first stages of learning to read; memory consolidation during sleep; and the links between attentional and memory systems.

The book also covers Neville's commitment to rigorous science that can be applied in practice, including social interventions aimed at improving neurodevelopmental outcomes. Short poems by Marta Kutas appear between chapters, inspired by Neville's work and highlighting her contributions, values and ideas.

Written for students and researchers of neuroplasticity and developmental cognitive neuroscience, the book documents Neville's influence on the field of neuroscience.