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Alina Nazareth, Ph.D.
About
Professional Work
Academic Work
Publications
Teaching
Honors & Fellowships
Links and Contacts
Alina Nazareth, Ph.D.
About
Professional Work
Academic Work
Publications
Teaching
Honors & Fellowships
Links and Contacts
More
About
Professional Work
Academic Work
Publications
Teaching
Honors & Fellowships
Links and Contacts
Affiliations
Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center
Project on Language and Spatial DevelopmentĀ
A new biomarker to examine the role of hippocampal function in the development of spatial reorientation in children: a review
Spatial navigation is an adaptive skill that involves determining the route to a particular goal or location, and then traveling that path. A major component of spatial navigation is spatial reorientation, or the ability to reestablish a sense of direction after being disoriented. The hippocampus is known to be critical for navigating, and has more recently been implicated in reorienting in adults, but relatively little is known about the development of the hippocampus in relation to these large-scale spatial abilities in children. It has been established that, compared to school-aged children, preschool children tend to perform poorly on certain spatial reorientation tasks, suggesting that their hippocampi may not be mature enough to process the demands of such a task. Currently, common techniques used to examine underlying brain activity, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), are not suitable for examining hippocampal development in young children. In the present paper, we argue instead for the use of eyeblink conditioning (EBC), a relatively under-utilized, inexpensive, and safe method that is easy to implement in developing populations. In addition, EBC has a well defined neural circuitry, which includes the hippocampus, making it an ideal tool to indirectly measure hippocampal functioning in young children. In this review, we will evaluate the literature on EBC and its relation to hippocampal development, and discuss th...
Alina Nazareth Graduates and Wins Worlds Ahead Graduate Award
Congratulations to Dr. Alina Nazareth on successfully defending her dissertation and completing the Ph.D. program in Developmental Science. Alina graduated in the summer 2015 commencement ceremony and was also recognized as a Worlds Ahead Graduate for all of the terrific work she has conducted while at FIU. Congratulations Dr. Nazareth!
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