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Christopher H. Chatham
2nd year Grad student (pursuing PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience)
University of Colorado, Boulder

Office: Muenzinger D260E
christopher~DOT~chatham~AT~colorado~DOT~edu

Research Interests

I am interested in computational approaches to developmental cognitive neuroscience. In other words, we use neural network models to simulate age-related changes in cognition and the mechanisms underlying the growth of the mind. Knowledge gleaned from these techniques could be applied to the design of novel adaptive toys ("smart toys"), the design of autonomous robots (also known as developmental robotics, or autonomous mental development) and to improving our understanding of how the mind emerges from the brain.

My current research involves using a novel child-adapted version of the AX-CPT task to investigate the development of active maintenance in childhood, and how that may relate to other executive functions (shifting/switching, inhibition, and updating). I have recently extended a neural network model by Morton & Munakata to simulate negative feedback in the Dimensional Change Card Sort task. I am also working on a novel variation of Piaget's classic A-Not-B task, one that may shed light on the contribution of one brain region in particular to perseveration.

In the future I hope to utilize both neural network modeling and latent factor analysis to identify exactly how executive functions develop, and what factors may support or enhance this process.