Project description
Executive and semantic control: a multimodal study of developmental changes
Executive control refers to higher order cognitive functions enabling individuals to plan and manage tasks, solve problems and adapt in changing environments. Semantic control refers to the ability to selectively access and use semantic information (i.e. meaning and knowledge) in a goal- and context-dependent way. While much research has focused on executive control in children, no studies have assessed developmental changes in semantic control. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CTRL-ALT-DEV project aims to conduct a pioneering study of the development of executive and semantic control and their relationship via behavioural, electroencephalographic and modelling studies. Such insight could support education and training for children with neurotypical and atypical development.
Objective
Vast research efforts have been made to understand how executive control (i.e. the domain-general processes needed to flexibly plan and monitor goal-oriented behavior) evolves in children to help them focus on a task (e.g. studying) while resisting interferences (e.g. phone notifications), ensuring an optimal cognitive development and future success in life. Still, no study has examined age-related changes in (domain-specific) semantic control, namely the processes needed to focus on non-dominant aspects of knowledge based on the current goal and context demands, rather than automatically retrieving the dominant ones (e.g. during symbolic play, the non-dominant shape of a banana is used to make it a phone, ignoring its dominant edibility). Semantic control is intrinsically related to the development of memory for concepts meaning and, in turn, the typology of a given language, but these aspects are unexplored. Moreover, its development is naturally paralleled by cortical maturation, but their interplay remains a hot topic of debate. This project aims to address these issues by studying for the first time the development of executive and semantic control and their relation at three levels: behavior, models, and brain. I will build a battery of control tasks using a gamification method for online assessment of English and Italian children at different ages. High-density electroencephalography will also be recorded to assess their task-related brain activity and organization. I will use state-of-the-art analytical approaches to assess the development of control processes (O1), their relation (O2), and language-dependence (O3) and functional brain bases (O4). Results will provide a new brain-behavior theoretical model of cognitive control acquisition embedding semantic control, opening new research agendas in cognitive neurosciences and education and paving the way to build trainings in control functions for children with typical and atypical development.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
35122 Padova
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.