To understand how the brain works, researchers typically present
study subjects in a brain scanner with simple stimuli, like a
number against a black background, to see which regions of the
brain respond. The results help them gain a better understanding
of what part of the brain is responsible for learning skills,
like math or reading. But it’s not always clear how applicable
these neural patterns, generated in an isolated experiment, are
to how the brain works in the real world—such as a classroom. In
a new study, Jessica Cantlon, a cognitive scientist at the
University of Rochester and her colleagues used functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at brains of children
during a normal educational activity—watching Sesame Street—to
get a better of picture of how the brain changes as it develops
reading and math skills. “It is not currently possible to
measure the real-world thought process that a child has while
observing an actual school session. However, if it could be
done, children’s neural pr