Welcome to the Social Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience Lab! 

We are a research group at the University of California, Riverside, that focuses on understanding social and cognitive development through the lens of neuroscience. We study children and adults, both with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to gain insight into the biological and psychological processes that support learning, motivation, perception, and social interaction. 

Under the direction of Principal Investigator Dr. Katherine Meltzoff, our projects span a diverse set of topics, such as social motivation, probabilistic learning, and cute aggression. Please click here to learn more about our current studies!

The SCDN Lab is closely affiliated with the UCR Graduate School of Education and the UCR SEARCH Center, the latter of which Dr. Meltzoff directs. The SEARCH Center provides free autism screenings and connects families with ASD to valuable community resources and support services.