At the AND Lab, we study how children’s growing brains help them pay attention to the world around them, along with their thoughts and actions. We hope to better understand how differences in children’s environments and experiences impact their attention and brain development, all with the added goal of learning how their attention helps them succeed in important school subjects like math.

Our world is full of endless things that are always trying to get our attention—notifications on our phones popping up while we're driving, or an exciting book we just can't stop reading. Even with all of our life experience as adults, our attention is always being tested. But kids also have to pay attention to handle their own busy surroundings while their brains are still developing, and they are learning about the world around them. How do kids know what to pay attention to? What do they find distracting?

The things that are important to children and that may attract their attention change quickly as they grow from babies to teenagers. Babies mostly see smiling faces and bottles of milk—until they learn to crawl and walk. When they start school, they find themselves trying to learn what to pay attention to in their busy surroundings full of classmates, books, and posters. A new sense of independence to teens, as caregivers give them more freedom, means navigating growing social circles, as well as road signs and traffic laws. Of course, each child is different, and so is the environment they grow up in. How do children’s changing environments challenge their developing attention? How do they learn to focus on important new things?