The capacity to reason about the world and make informed decisions is not fully mature until early adulthood, and differs markedly between individuals. A better understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying the development of different forms of reasoning could shed light on the treatment of adolescents by the law.
Silvia Bunge is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley, where she directs the Cognitive Control and Development Lab. Her work uses behavioral and brain imaging techniques to elucidate the neural mechanisms of cognitive control in healthy and neurologically impaired adults and children.