Presenter: Aaron Buss, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee

When: Wednesday March 4^th at 4pm GMT+0

Where…

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Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/35456288498315?p=wLZV3esM6gwsRWGrtn

Meeting ID: 354 562 884 983 15

Passcode: gD3ye3jS

Abstract:

My talk addresses key challenges and next steps for WOLVES 2.0. Building on recent advances that integrate word learning mechanisms with executive control, I outline three directions where an explicit theory–data dialogue can drive new discoveries. First, I discuss gaps between current WOLVES 2.0 simulations and empirical findings in executive function development, and how extending the model to capture these effects will constrain the neural architecture that binds words to object representations. Second, I argue that WOLVES 2.0 provides a unique opportunity to formalize autonomous dimensional label learning, which requires both word–feature mappings (e.g., “red” to a distribution of hues) and word–word mappings (e.g., “color” linking to specific color terms). Third, I highlight longitudinal evidence implicating the left inferior frontal cortex as a mediator between label learning and later executive function, and describe how the model can be used to generate mechanistic predictions about how autonomous label learning alters both behavior and neural function. Together, these directions position WOLVES 2.0 as a platform for using developmental data to refine theory—and for using theory to motivate new developmental and neural tests.

Note that the talk will build on work presented in the following paper, available here…

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273229724000662

Spencer, J.P., Buss, A.T., McCraw, A.R., Johns, E. & Samuelson, L.K. (2025). Integrating attention, working memory, and word learning in a dynamic field theory of executive function development: Moving beyond the ‘component’ view of executive function. Developmental Review, 75, 101182.

All are welcome.