# Mechanisms of learning across development and species

> **NIH NIH T32** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $242,108

## Abstract

The proposal is to renew a Training Program for Years 6-10, that trains predoctoral students in the
mechanisms of learning across development and species. Learning is fundamental to adaptive behavior.
It involves acquiring and modifying information, behaviors, and skills. Learning also is productive: it
extends itself through induction, deduction, and integration. Mechanisms of learning is a critical area for
predoctoral research training because learning has pervasive impacts in both adaptive and maladaptive
behavior, and must be an integral part of any successful mental health or educational intervention. The
Training Faculty are drawn from the Department of Psychology, the Yerkes National Primate Research
Center (YNPRC), and the interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program, all of Emory University. The
primary training sites are the Department of Psychology and the YNPRC. The 19-member Training
Faculty approach the study of the mechanisms of learning as they manifest throughout development in
healthy and clinical populations using genetic, comparative, computational, developmental,
neurobiological, and neuropsychological techniques. They examine how additive and subtractive changes
in the brain relate to developmental changes in learning, and how diverse species acquire and modify
knowledge ranging from simple associations to culturally-mediated rituals and traditions. The diversity
of ages, species, and circumstances in which learning mechanisms are studied at Emory provides rich
opportunities for accumulation of converging evidence about these mechanisms, and thus for equipping
the next generation of scientists with the skills necessary for understanding basic mechanisms of
learning. Moreover, the training site is ideally suited to address the priority of the NIH to improve the
translation of basic behavioral and social sciences research through our integration of basic research
among the range of biological, behavioral, and social disciplines that contribute to the shaping of
behavior across both ontogeny and phylogeny. We request three predoctoral trainees per year, each of
whom will be trained for 3 years. Trainees are drawn from among Emory's highly-selective Laney
Graduate School. Trainees complete all departmental/program requirements for the Ph.D. The Training
Program provides added value through several specific enhancements, including (a) explicit co-
mentoring and collaborative research experiences across species, ages or methodologies; (b) intensive
training in grant and other professional writing; (c) advanced training in ethics and the responsible
conduct of research; (d) participation in courses, workshops and research forums specific to research on
learning across development and species; and (e) application of empirically supported best practices in
graduate training, including vertical (faculty-student) and horizontal (peer learning) education models.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9940746
- **Project number:** 5T32HD071845-08
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** PATRICIA J. BAUER
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $242,108
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9940746

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9940746, Mechanisms of learning across development and species (5T32HD071845-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9940746. Licensed CC0.

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