News

Program to be broadcast locally Wed. June 3 at 9:30 p.m. on WLIW

(Newark, NJ) — How can the science of “brain plasticity” empower children to gain success in learning and in life? What is brain fitness for kids? This month, public television viewers nationwide have the opportunity to learn more about accelerated learning for children, and how to bring this approach home. 

The work of neuroscientists Dr. Paula Tallal and Dr. April Benasich will be featured on the television program “The New Science of Learning: Brain Fitness for Kids,” which will air locally on WLIW, Channel 21 (www.wliw.org) on Wed. June 3, 2009, as part of a nationwide series of broadcasts.  This program explores the exciting promise of brain plasticity and how parents can use this to optimize learning and dramatically, positively and permanently impact the lives of children of all abilities. Drs. Tallal and Benasich are researchers at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Newark.

Through interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, educators, parents and the children themselves, the television program tells the groundbreaking and moving story of previously unthinkable successes in learning and life. The program includes interviews with Dr. Michael Merzenich of the University of California at San Francisco, and Dr. Tallal, co-founders of Scientific Learning, a company that produces the Fast ForWord® products, now in wide use throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Throughout the program, viewers will hear from experts and scientists working on the cutting edge of neuroplasticity research, and witness how their work intersects with the lives of real children. Applying this science provides a new model of learning, one that results in engaged learning by empowered and confident students.  The Scientific Learning® technology has been widely used in 5,200 schools throughout the country in the Fast ForWord family of products. This technology has now been developed for at-home use for K-12 students in an Internet accessible new product called BrainSpark, which is being offered for the first time as a pledge premium in exchange for PBS donations.

About Scientific Learning Corp.

Scientific Learning creates educational software that accelerates learning by improving the processing efficiency of the brain. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord® family of products provides struggling readers with computer-delivered exercises that build the cognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. The efficacy of the Scientific Learning products has been established by more than 550 research studies and publications. For more information, visit www.scientificlearning.com.

About the Rutgers Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience

The Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience (CMBN) at Rutgers University in Newark was established in 1985, by founding directors Dr. Paula Tallal and Dr. Ian Creese.  Currently, Rutgers’ CMBN houses 13 research teams that are at the forefront of neuroscience research and teaching. For information on Dr. Tallal’s research, visit http://cmbn.rutgers.edu/research/tallal.aspx, and for information on Dr. Benasich’s research, visit http://cmbn.rutgers.edu/research/benasich.aspx.

Media Contact: Helen Paxton
973-353-5262
E-mail: paxton@andromeda.rutgers.edu