npj Science of Learning

Habits in humans are commonly studied through outcome devaluation paradigms, but most existing tasks fail to capture the robustness of habitual behavior seen in animal models. I introduce two novel behavioral tasks designed to overcome these limitations. In the first task, ("shooting aliens task", n = 45), I simplified an existing instrumental learning task and implemented a novel intra-block reversal method in which stimulus positions changed unexpectedly within blocks while maintaining the same stimulus-action mappings. Participants also completed a classical devaluation phase with explicit reward changes. In the second task ("hands-attack task", n = 44), which relied on real-life avoidance behavior, devaluation was achieved by reversing reward contingencies and allowing participants to inhibit the dominant avoidance response in favor of a more effortful counterattack. Across both tasks, overtrained conditions led to more errors and longer response times after devaluation, confirming increased insensitivity to outcome change. Intra-block reversals in the shooting aliens task produced stronger habitual signatures than standard whole-block devaluation, revealing a greater cost of overriding automatic responses. In the hands-attack task, even without prior training, participants showed clear markers of habitual behavior, suggesting that real-world action patterns can replicate key features of laboratory habits. Interestingly, participants were more accurate in overriding overtrained responses when attacks were highly familiar, possibly due to enhanced perceptual processing, although this came at the cost of longer response times. These findings introduce two complementary tools that address key limitations in current paradigms: the intra-block reversal increases habit sensitivity without inflating working memory demands, while the hands-attack task captures naturalistic habit expression without artificial training, using a single, ecologically valid session. Both are suited for clinical applications, particularly where time constraints or cognitive load limit the feasibility of traditional approaches.

Stored memories are useless unless they are available for retrieval. Thus, investigating different ways to modulate retrieval is crucial. Novelty has been extensively studied as a modulator of memory. In this study, we investigated whether exposure to a novel event, an innovative neuroscience lesson, can enhance memory retrieval and divergent thinking in high school students. Across three experiments, we assessed the timing and mechanisms underlying these effects. In experiment 1, we found that memory retrieval was enhanced when the novel lesson occurred immediately before a memory test, but not when it was presented one hour earlier. In experiment 2, we found that the same immediate novelty exposure improved divergent thinking performance. Finally, in experiment 3, we explored potential shared mechanisms using a competition protocol and revealed that novelty improved divergent thinking regardless of its timing relative to memory retrieval. However, memory retrieval benefited only when tested immediately before the divergent thinking task. These results suggest that novelty boosts both memory retrieval and divergent thinking, but through partially distinct mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate that a simple, real-world classroom intervention can effectively enhance key cognitive functions in students. Significance StatementStored memories are only valuable if they can be retrieved, and memory retrieval plays a key role in creative thinking. Here, we tested whether a simple, novel event, a neuroscience lesson, could enhance memory retrieval and creative thinking in a real-world classroom setting. We found that novelty improved both memory retrieval and divergent thinking, an aspect of creative thinking, when presented immediately before the task. Finally, we revealed a non-reciprocal competition effect between memory retrieval and divergent thinking. These findings highlight a practical, low-cost intervention to boost key cognitive functions in students, demonstrating that brief, well-timed novel experiences can support both learning and creative thinking in educational environments.

From a behavioral and neuronal perspective, observational and physical practice conditions have been theorized to be equivalent during motor task learning. However, some paradigms can challenge such a functional equivalence hypothesis. The perception of difficulties experienced by others may play a role in observational learning by allowing learners to partially distance themselves from these episodes, thereby limiting their impact on learning. In contrast, during physical practice, performance difficulties are directly experienced, which may constrain such distancing mechanisms. Indeed, an observer watching a model that uses a wrong physical strategy can ignore erroneous trials in order to preserve action encoding. The main goal of the present study was to prevent such observer avoidance and to test the cognitive and neuronal functional equivalence between the physical and observational practice groups. During this experiment, both groups learned two motor sequences. Only one sequence was repeatedly interrupted to perturb encoding. Behavioral results revealed that both groups were equally negatively impacted by such interruptions. Together, these findings suggest that while physical and observational practice can lead to comparable behavioral outcomes under strong disruption, they rely on partially distinct neural strategies. Physical practice predominantly engages motor and striato-cerebellar feedback loops, whereas observational learning relies more strongly on fronto-cerebellar and episodic memory networks, highlighting a context-dependent functional equivalence between learning modalities.

Practice enhances motor acuity, enabling movement execution with greater speed and accuracy. However, the learning principles underlying improvements in speed, accuracy, and efficiency remain less understood than those supporting motor skill acquisition and adaptation. Here, we examined motor execution in a skill-based practice task to characterize learning, retention, and generalization of motor acuity. Using a gamified two-dimensional racing task, right-handed participants controlled a stylus-driven car along a curved track as quickly and accurately as possible. Across two studies (N = 83 total, 54 females), participants completed 300 training laps on Session 1 and returned for Session 2 to assess retention and generalization to novel track configurations: one with altered spatial configuration (rotated track) and one requiring movement in the opposite direction of training (reverse track). Movement speed improved rapidly and showed robust, though incomplete, retention across sessions. Speed improvements generalized substantially to both novel tracks. Accuracy was high at training onset and showed strong retention. However, we do not observe offline gains between sessions. Notably, accuracy declined transiently for the novel track configurations, suggesting interference from prior training. Movement efficiency, indexed by path length, was retained and generalized to the rotated track. However, reversing movement direction impaired efficiency, revealing a movement direction effect. This effect persisted when training direction was reversed in a second study, with counterclockwise movements remaining slower and less efficient than clockwise movements. These findings show that practice produces durable and broadly transferable motor execution improvements, while inherent movement direction biases constrain how improvements generalize across contexts. New & NoteworthyThe learning principles underlying improvements in motor acuity remain less well understood than those governing other forms of motor learning. Prior work suggests that motor execution improvements show limited generalization. In contrast, the present findings demonstrate that execution-based practice can produce robust, transferable gains, while also revealing a key constraint: inherent movement direction biases that limit generalization. By characterizing learning, retention, and generalization, this work provides new insight into how motor acuity improvements compare with skill acquisition and adaptation.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with atypical temporal processing across multiple cognitive domains. However, most evidence derives from simplified paradigms that isolate timing from spatial behaviour. Here, we examine how temporal prediction operates within a continuous, dynamic visual environment. Using the Dynamic Visual Search (DVS) task, we embedded spatiotemporal regularities into a sustained stream of visual events, allowing observers to implicitly learn and anticipate predictable targets. Continuous mouse tracking provided a fine-grained measure of action planning beyond discrete reaction time and accuracy metrics. Young adults diagnosed with ADHD (N=40) were compared to matched neurotypical controls (N=38). Both groups benefited from target predictability and reduced distractor load, indicating intact early spatiotemporal learning in ADHD. Across the duration of the task, however, the groups diverged. Neurotypical participants showed progressive increases in behavioural benefits from prediction, accompanied by increasingly direct and efficient mouse trajectories. In contrast, individuals with ADHD reached a plateau in prediction benefits midway through the experiment. Their performance remained stable, with minimal evidence of resource depletion, but did not show further optimisation based on learned regularities. These findings suggest that while prediction formation is preserved in ADHD, its progressive utilisation across longer timescales is attenuated. Rather than reflecting a primary deficit in learning or sustained attention, ADHD may involve altered long-timescale integration or weighting of predictive information in dynamic environments.

Learning to read leads to widespread changes in brain organization, but it is not yet known when text first becomes a privileged stimulus. To test whether specialized neural responses to text appear prior to reading instruction, 31 monolingual toddlers in Israel (2.1-3.6 years) not yet enrolled in school were presented with displays of real, native text and visually matched non-text symbols. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we found different patterns of activity in response to text vs. non-text across multiple cortical regions. Most notably, text elicited more activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a region associated with language processing. These results challenge the view that the reading network emerges in response to gains in reading proficiency and instead suggest that through implicit sensitivity to regularities in their input, toddlers may be able to discover that text is a meaningful stimulus and begin to develop associations between language and text. Research HighlightsO_LIToddlers show different neural responses to real text vs. non-text symbols. C_LIO_LIUnfamiliar symbols evoke a novelty response in multiple cortical regions. C_LIO_LIText elicits more activity in a left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a region associated with processing language. C_LIO_LIBefore they know how to read, toddlers may recognize text as a frequent, familiar stimulus that is linked to language. C_LI

Students who frequently miss school are at greater risk for academic difficulty. High levels of absenteeism as early as kindergarten have been associated with long-term consequences, such as low reading proficiency in Grade 3 and low academic achievement in Grade 5, both of which have been associated with lower rates of high school graduation and enrollment in post-secondary education. The prevalence of school absenteeism has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic and there have been sustained shifts in student attendance rates from kindergarten to Grade 12 since 2020. The goals of this population-level, repeated cross-sectional cohort study were to compare rates of chronic absenteeism, defined as being absent from school at least 10% of the time, in kindergarten in Canada before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and examine the association between childrens chronic absenteeism and their concurrent developmental vulnerability. A total of 513,159 kindergarten children participated in the study, with 284,712 (55.5%) being in the pre-COVID-19 cohort (2017-2020) and 228,447 (44.5%) in the post-COVID-19 cohort (2020-2023). Across Canada, rates of chronic absenteeism increased from pre- to post-COVID-19, from 17.7% to 41.3%, with differences by jurisdiction. The greatest increase was seen in Ontario, while the smallest increase was seen in British Columbia. Children attending kindergarten in the post-COVID-19 cohort were three times more likely to be chronically absent compared to their peers attending kindergarten before the onset of the pandemic. Despite this, chronic absenteeism in the post-COVID-19 period was associated with reduced odds of overall developmental vulnerability, a pattern that is likely attributable to shifts in the composition of chronically absent children. In the post-COVID-19 cohort, a greater percentage of children who were chronically absent resided in higher SES neighbourhoods compared to their chronically absent peers attending school before the onset of the pandemic. While increasing rates of school absenteeism should not be ignored, our results suggest that chronic absenteeism following COVID-19 might be more nuanced than before. The jurisdictional differences in rates of chronic absenteeism observed in this study could be due to the various public health measures put in place by the various provincial and territorial governments. It is also possible that the children from higher SES neighbourhoods missed more school after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic because their parents had the capability to work from home, making it easier to keep their child(ren) home from school. The decreased association between chronic absenteeism and developmental vulnerability post-COVID-19 may reflect improved access to online resources, which enables students to stay on track academically from home. Gaining a better understanding of the reasons behind missing school and the relation between absenteeism and academic achievement at various developmental stages is crucial to support successful learning trajectories.

The most highly predictive polygenic scores in the behavioural sciences are for cognitive traits, especially general cognitive ability (g) and educational attainment. We combined polygenic scores derived from genome-wide association studies of adult g and educational attainment to create adult 'polygenic g scores' which we used to chart the course of cognitive development of 10,000 white British children from toddlerhood through early adulthood. We integrated cross-sectional regression, latent growth curve, and confirmatory factor analysis to systematically characterise cognitive development. Polygenic g score showed minimal prediction in toddlerhood, modest prediction in childhood, and substantial prediction by early adulthood accounting for 12% of the variance. Higher polygenic g scores were associated with faster cognitive growth in latent growth models. Prediction was strongest for a cross-time latent cognitive factor (15%) capturing cognitive ability across development. By integrating polygenic prediction directly into a structural equation model framework, we provided a theoretical upper bound of genetic influences on g under minimal measurement error. We also examined the polygenic g score's prediction of educational achievement, behaviour problems, and anthropometric outcomes and found similar developmental increases in prediction for educational achievement. Together, our findings demonstrate that adult polygenic g scores can be a useful tool for charting the development of cognitive traits.

Humans can flexibly acquire entirely new sensorimotor mappings, a process known as de novo motor learning. A central challenge in de novo motor learning is that the learner must discover a viable solution from scratch within a highly redundant control space, without predefined task constraints. Understanding what types of sensorimotor information contribute to the formation of accurate motor behavior in such situations is therefore critical for explaining how novel sensorimotor skills are acquired. While previous studies have suggested that novel visuomotor mappings can be formed based on movement direction and target position, it remains unclear how these two types of information contribute to the learning process. To address this question, we trained 25 human participants to learn arbitrary joystick-to-cursor mapping. We then employed a generalization paradigm to selectively restrict learning experience to either movement direction or target position. Three distinct target conditions were designed: one emphasized target position (P), another emphasized movement direction (D), and a third (P&D) encouraged learning of both components separately. As a result, direction experience improved movement initiation, whereas position experience enhanced movement termination. However, in the P&D condition, combining these experiences did not yield additive generalization. Instead, endpoint accuracy was positively correlated with the degree of alignment between direction- and position-based joystick outputs within the control space. These results suggest that accurate formation of a novel sensorimotor map depends on the coordinated use of directional and positional experiences. Significant StatementHow do humans build entirely new sensorimotor relationships from scratch? This study examined how distinct sensorimotor experiences (movement direction and target position) contribute to the acquisition of a novel joystick-to-cursor mapping. By isolating these experiences, we found that direction experience improved movement initiation, while position experience enhanced movement termination. However, combining these experiences did not lead to more accurate movements as a whole. Instead, the accuracy was related to how well directional and positional joystick outputs were aligned in a control space. These findings suggest that de novo motor learning requires the coordinated use of directional and positional information.

Because early maths skills strongly predict later outcomes, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that shape early learning in children. The recent years have seen an increase in studying the neural correlates that support the acquisition of maths skills. However, existing work in early childhood has primarily focused on core number-processing regions in the parietal regions, with comparatively little attention to the supportive role of prefrontal regions. In this study, we examined the engagement of the prefrontal regions when matching numbers and objects. Children (N=60, 25 girls, aged 2.74-5.18 years) matched auditory small (1-3) and large (5-7) numbers, as well as objects (fruits) to corresponding visual pictures while their frontoparietal brain responses were recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Importantly, matching large numbers was substantially more difficult than matching small numbers or objects. The analysis revealed that children had increased activation in the right middle frontal gyrus when matching large numbers, compared to small numbers. However, there was no difference in the prefrontal region between matching small numbers and objects. The connectivity analysis further revealed increased frontoparietal connectivity when matching small numbers, but not large numbers or objects. Our findings suggest that prefrontal involvement during early numerical knowledge acquisition relies primarily on domain-general mechanisms, with number-specific responses likely to emerge later in development.

Auditory associative word learning has been shown in infants and proven to be a difficult task in young adults, where learning is only successful under specific conditions. In order to better understand the transition from successful infant auditory associative word learning to the challenging adult learning, we tested 5-6-year-olds and 9-10-year-olds in a sequential associative task to investigate their ability in associating novel pseudowords with environmental sounds. Additionally, we explored short-term episodic recognition memory, language development, sex, and musical training and their effects on behavioral and electrophysiological measures of word learning. EEG data were collected to assess word learning in an initial training phase (consistent vs. inconsistent pairings) and a subsequent testing phase (matching vs. violated pairings) with additional button-press reactions for behavioral learning data. While learning effects were seen in the first half of the training phase in younger children, no early effects of learning were found in older children. Only musically trained 9-10-year-olds indicated word learning in the second half of the training phase. In the testing phase, only non-musically trained 9-10-year-olds revealed trend-level N400-like responses. Short-term memory (auditory-verbal, auditory-nonverbal, and visual-nonverbal) and language development improved with age, but only visual-nonverbal short-term recognition memory was positively correlated with improved auditory associative word learning. Unlike cross-modal visual associative word learning, our results, together with earlier findings in infants and young adults, suggest a difficulty in auditory associative word learning beyond infancy, which is sustained from childhood to young adulthood.

Previous research has demonstrated that children exhibit superior - as compared to adults - consolidation of newly acquired motor sequences across post-learning periods of wakefulness. Given that consolidation is thought to be supported by the reactivation of learning-related patterns of brain activity during the rest periods following active task practice, we hypothesized that the childhood advantage in offline consolidation may be linked to greater reactivation during post-learning wakefulness. Twenty-two children (7-11 years) and 23 adults (18-30 years) completed two sessions of a motor sequence learning task, separated by a 5-hour wake interval. Multivoxel analyses of task-related and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were employed to assess the persistence of learning-related patterns of neural activity into post-task rest epochs, reflective of reactivation processes. Behavioral results demonstrated the previously reported childhood advantage in offline consolidation over a post-learning wake interval. Imaging results revealed that children exhibited greater persistence of task-related hippocampal - but not putaminal - activity into post-learning rest as compared to adults. These findings suggest that the childhood advantage in awake motor memory consolidation may be supported, at least partially, by enhanced reactivation of task-dependent hippocampal activity patterns during offline epochs.

By relying on the observation of others experiences, humans learn about threat while avoiding harmful experiences. Yet, previous neuroscience research has focused on observational threats that are predictable. While the neurobiological distinction between temporally predictable (cued) and unpredictable (contextual) threats has been well-characterized in firsthand learning. In this study, we developed a novel observational paradigm in which participants learned from predictable (P) and unpredictable (U) observational threats, as well as a no-threat (N) condition and encountered the same conditions during an expression phase based on the NPU paradigm to investigate how the brain encodes predictable and unpredictable threat cues observed in others. Participants in Experiment 1 (n=20, male and female) and Experiment 2 (n=23, male and female) successfully learned threat contingencies, showing heightened threat expectations for predictable cues and unpredictable contexts. This converged with neural (fMRI, Experiment 2) responses in the anterior insula during the expression phase. Reflecting the dynamic process of learning, the amygdala responded to predictable threat cues with a linear decrease across trials. Interestingly, we found that responses to others pain was enhanced within the amygdala, insula and hippocampus, when participant could learn to predict threats, as compared to unpredictable conditions. Our findings suggest that humans learn to resolve temporal uncertainty, relying solely on observation, which thereby lays a foundation to the concept of fear and anxiety in social groups.

The corpus callosum is the largest commissure in the mammalian brain and plays a major role in supporting cognitive processes required for adapting to complex environments. Individuals born with Corpus Callosum Dysgenesis (CCD), characterized by malformations of the corpus callosum, commonly exhibit deficits in social navigation, abstract problem-solving, decision-making, and self-awareness. Metacognition is a key cognitive process that supports these functions; however, it has yet to be tested comprehensively in individuals with CCD. Over three experiments, and three CCD cohorts, we tested the impact of this neurodevelopmental disorder on perceptual accuracy, confidence judgements, and metacognitive efficiency using two variants of a Random Dot Kinematogram task within lab, online, and VR conditions. We found that individuals with CCD typically displayed normal perceptual accuracy but failed to adjust their confidence judgements in line with task difficulty. Computational modelling revealed that this difference was explained by lower metacognitive efficiency driven by consistently lower metacognitive sensitivity. Together, these results provide evidence that the corpus callosum plays a crucial role in supporting metacognition.

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have persistent language learning difficulties and often perform poorly on pseudoword repetition, a task that probes phonological, memory, and speech-motor processes that support vocabulary acquisition. Research on the neural basis of pseudoword repetition in DLD is limited. We used whole-brain functional MRI (fMRI) to examine pseudoword repetition and repetition-based learning in 46 children with DLD (ages 10-15 years) and 71 age-matched children with typical language development. During scanning, children heard and repeated pseudowords paired with visual referents, allowing us to track learning-related changes in neural activity across repetitions. Repeated pseudoword production yielded comparable behavioural learning across groups, with faster productions by later repetitions. Post-scan, form-referent recognition was comparable across groups, whereas pseudoword repetition accuracy was lower in DLD. Pseudoword repetition engaged a distributed neural network, including inferior frontal cortex bilaterally (greater on the left), premotor and sensorimotor cortex, and posterior temporal and occipital regions. Group differences emerged primarily in regions where activity was task negative (i.e., below baseline or deactivated): lateral occipito-parietal cortex (posterior angular gyrus), medial parieto-occipital cortex (retrosplenial), and right posterior cingulate cortex. Learning-related decreases in activity were similar across groups, but region-of-interest analyses showed reduced leftward lateralisation of activity in inferior frontal gyrus in DLD. These findings suggest weaker disengagement of the default mode network during a linguistically demanding task in DLD. Although repetition-based pseudoword learning recruited similar neural mechanisms in both groups, these mechanisms may operate less efficiently in DLD, alongside reduced hemispheric specialisation in inferior frontal cortex. HighlightsO_LISimilar repetition-related neural attenuation across groups during pseudoword learning. C_LIO_LIReduced default-mode network suppression during pseudoword repetition in DLD. C_LIO_LIReduced left-hemisphere specialisation of inferior frontal cortex in DLD. C_LIO_LIRepetition-based learning in DLD supported by less efficient neural networks. C_LI

Mental fatigue is known to impair cognitive and motor performance, but its impact on motor learning remains unclear. This study examined how mental fatigue affects skill acquisition in a sequential finger-tapping task. Twenty-eight participants were assigned to either a mental fatigue group, which completed a thirty-minute Stroop task, or a control group, which watched a documentary of equivalent duration. Both groups then trained on the finger-tapping task across multiple practice blocks with brief rest periods. Overall motor skill improved similarly in both groups. However, mental fatigue altered the pattern of acquisition: participants in the fatigue group showed decreased performance during practice blocks, which was compensated by larger gains during inter-block rest periods. A strong negative correlation was observed between online decrements and offline improvements, indicating that greater declines during practice were associated with larger gains during rest. This study highlights the critical role of rest periods in maintaining learning under cognitively demanding conditions and provides insight into how internal states, such as mental fatigue, can selectively influence the expression of performance without compromising overall learning.

BACKGROUNDLearned knowledge does not consistently generalize to new contexts in autistic individuals, limiting potential for adapting to real-world demands. This challenge is hypothesized to stem from difficulties with forming abstract representations, potentially arising from perceptual processing that favors local details over the gestalt. We tested the prediction that generalization would be primarily based on exemplar-specific representations in autistic youth using computational modelling coupled with neuroimaging. METHODSSixty-four autistic adolescents without intellectual disability (69% males; ages 14-18 years) completed a category generalization task during functional magnetic resonance imaging at two time points. Computational models estimated abstract (prototype-based) and specific (exemplar-based) representations and underlying neural correlates. We further examined associations with adaptive functioning and moderation by autistic traits. RESULTSContrary to predictions, we observed a consistent prototype-dominant majority, a subgroup who generalized without consistent representational reliance, and a small minority who failed to acquire category structure. Prototypes were represented in bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), right frontal pole, and right lateral occipital cortex, while exemplars were represented in bilateral cuneus. Better generalization predicted better real-world adaptive functioning. Moreover, greater prototype-related activation in left IPL predicted better adaptive functioning in participants with higher autistic traits. CONCLUSIONSThese findings challenge the prevailing view that concept learning in autism relies primarily on hyper-specific perceptual processing, identify meaningful variability in representational strategies, and reveal neural pathways through which abstract representation may support real-world adaptive behavior.

Play is a fundamental aspect of childhood and plays a crucial role in the development of creativity, yet its neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that more frequent play is associated with stronger functional integration among the default mode network (DMN), executive control network (CN), and salience network (SAL), as these cortical networks have been implicated in creativity in adults. In a preregistered study of infants and toddlers (Study 1; N = 143, 10 months-3 years, 67 boys, Baby Connectome Project), parent-reported play and imitation behaviors increased sharply from 1 to 2 years, and were associated with stronger within-DMN connectivity and DMN-CN coupling, controlling for age, sex, and head motion. In middle childhood (Study 2; N = 108, ages 4-11 years, 52 boys), parent-reported play frequency declined with age, as did cross-network coupling involving SAL. However, children who engaged more frequently in play showed higher DMN-SAL and CN-SAL connectivity. Finally, in a quasi-experimental comparison (Study 3; N = 45; ages 4-12 years, 20 boys), children enrolled in a curriculum that includes guided play (Montessori) showed higher DMN-SAL and DMN-CN connectivity than peers in traditional schools, suggesting that pedagogies that center child-led exploration might enable protracted brain network integration. Across these three studies, play was consistently associated with greater integration among DMN, SAL, and CN, a pattern previously linked to creativity in adults. Our findings offer a potential mechanism linking childhood play to later creativity through its role in supporting brain integration during development. Public Significant StatementO_LIPlay is widely believed to nurture childrens creativity, yet the brain mechanisms behind this link are not well understood. C_LIO_LIAcross three studies from infancy to middle childhood, we found that more frequent play was associated with stronger integration among brain networks tied to imagination, attention, and control. C_LIO_LIThese findings suggest that play may help build the neural foundation for later creative thinking. C_LI

The role of digital media in early childhood development remains highly debated, particularly regarding its impact on language acquisition. While excessive or unsupervised screen exposure has been linked to poorer outcomes, less is known about whether structured and interactive uses of technology can support learning. Building on previous research, we evaluated a brief, educator-supervised tablet-based intervention in 246 children aged 2-5 years from low- to middle-socioeconomic backgrounds attending public early education centers. Using a pre-post design with matched study and control groups, children completed 4-8 short training sessions (15 minutes each) involving interactive word-image associations spanning multiple linguistic categories. Preschoolers additionally engaged in prompted vocalization. Across age groups (2-3, 3-4, and 4-5 years), children in the intervention showed greater gains in language comprehension than controls, including receptive language in toddlers ({beta} = 0.49, p = 0.009), vocabulary and morphology in younger preschoolers ({beta} = 0.59-0.68, all p < 0.05), and grammar comprehension in older preschoolers ({beta} = 0.30, p = 0.038). These effects were consistent after accounting for child and parental characteristics. Together, these findings suggest that the developmental impact of digital media depends less on exposure itself than on how it is used. When embedded in structured, socially guided interactions, even brief tablet-based activities may support early language development

Children frequently intervene in social conflicts by punishing violators or helping victims, yet the motivational mechanisms underlying such third-party altruistic behavior remain poorly understood. It remains unclear how children balance fairness concerns against self-interest, how these motivations interact with intervention costs and impact on outcomes, and whether gender and individual differences reflect distinct motivational structures. Here, we applied the motive cocktail model, which assumes that altruistic behavior arises from multiple prosocial motives, to dissociate motivations underlying third-party interventions. We studied 229 children aged 8-12 years (123 boys), an age when fairness and inequality aversion are reliably expressed. The third-party intervention task manipulated inequality between others, the personal cost of intervention, its impact on outcomes, and the form of intervention (punishment versus helping). Children intervened more as inequality increased and less as intervention costs rose, indicating a trade-off between moral benefits and self-interest. Gender differences emerged only under high-cost and high-impact conditions, with boys engaging in more punishment interventions. The motive cocktail model outperformed alternative models and revealed that boys showed stronger aversion to disadvantageous inequality and a greater tendency to reverse victims disadvantage than girls. Clustering analyses further identified distinct motivational profiles within each gender. These findings demonstrate that childrens third-party altruistic behavior is governed by multiple dissociable motives. This study provides a mechanistic account of how social motivations are organized and weighted during late childhood.