ABSTRACT
Dr. Helen Neville was a pioneer in the field of cognitive neuroscience, focusing on the neurophysiological foundations of cognition. This chapter describes her innovative work examining the development of selective attention. Her seminal work evaluated how selective auditory attention manifests in typically developing children and was later extended to children with communication disorders, specifically developmental language disorders and reading difficulties. She then contributed to a fundamental shift in the research landscape with studies of the associations between early childhood experiences, especially children’s socioeconomic status backgrounds, and neural processes for selective attention. Dr. Neville was not satisfied with revealing the vulnerability of selective attention in children, so she set out to develop intervention programs that would improve selective attention skills, and thereby improve long-term outcomes for young children. The research pioneered by Dr. Neville was innovative and groundbreaking and continues to have an impact and influence around the world.
