# ONTOGENESIS OF CATEGORIZATION: LINKING DEVELOPMENT, MECHANISMS, AND BIOLOGY

> **NIH NIH P01** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $251,761

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This proposal is a component of a P01 program project focusing on the developmental, cognitive, and
neural mechanisms of categorization. The P01 as a whole has 4 goals: (1) elucidate ontogenetic and
phylogenetic changes in categorization, (2) to link brain development with the development of
categorization in humans, (3) to develop and test animal models of category learning, and (4) to use
animal models for examining the neurobiology of categorization. These goals will be addressed in
three individual projects: (1) Individual Project 1 aims to link the is to link the development and the
neurobiology of category learning, (2) Individual Project 2 aims to develop and test animal models of
human categorization and category learning, and (3) Individual Project 3 aims to develop and test
computational models of interacting systems of category learning. The present project (Individual
Project 1) is designed to contribute to goals 1-2 of the P01 program project. Individual Project 1 has
the following specific aims: (1) to examine the mechanisms of category learning across development,
(2) to conduct a longitudinal investigation of category learning, and (3) to link the development and
the neurobiology of category learning. These specific aims will be addressed in two studies with 6-, 8-
, and 10-month-old infants, (2) 3- to 4-and 5- to 6-year-old children, and adults. In addition to multiple
experiments, we will collect behavioral and biological markers of prefrontal and hippocampal
functioning and link these markers to the mechanisms and development of categorization. The
behavioral markers will include executive function tasks (these are considered markers of prefrontal
functioning) and flexible memory tasks (these are considered markers of hippocampal functioning).
The biological markers will include genetic information related to polymorphisms of COMT, DRD4,
and BDNF genes, with the former two being markers of prefrontal functioning and the latter one being
a marker of the hippocampal functioning. We will use the marker information to predict individual task
performance and individual developmental trajectories. The proposed research is based on the
general hypothesis of multiple systems of category learning: an evolutionarily primitive system (or
systems) based on projections from modality-specific cortices to the striatum plus a more
evolutionarily recent system (or systems) involving, in addition to the striatum, cortical areas of the
medial-temporal lobe (MTL) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). We also hypothesize that the engagement
of each system is determined by (1) the structure of a to-be-learned category, (2) the amount of
guidance provided to the learner in a course of learning, and (3) the maturational time-course of each
of the systems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932475
- **Project number:** 5P01HD080679-05
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** VLADIMIR M SLOUTSKY
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $251,761
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932475

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932475, ONTOGENESIS OF CATEGORIZATION: LINKING DEVELOPMENT, MECHANISMS, AND BIOLOGY (5P01HD080679-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932475. Licensed CC0.

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