Video portrait Hector Fellow Brigitte Röder

Fasci­nat­ing Brain — Brigitte Röder and Her Research on Neuroplasticity

Why do children learn differ­ently than adults? Which mecha­nisms in the brain are respon­si­ble for this? When, how, and in what environ­ment do we learn best? And what are the conse­quences if children do not encounter ideal learn­ing condi­tions? Psychol­o­gist and neuro­sci­en­tist Brigitte Röder dedicates her research to the mecha­nisms of the human brain and its neuro­plas­tic­ity. Together with her team at the Univer­sity of Hamburg, she inves­ti­gates how the brain devel­ops and adapts through learn­ing processes, depend­ing on the experi­ences an individ­ual under­goes. A key finding of her research empha­sizes the crucial role child­hood experi­ences play, along­side genetic predis­po­si­tions, in shaping the brain's networks.