The Brain on Big Bird: Neural Activity During Sesame Street Predicts Children's Test Scores

Using brain scans of children and adults watching Sesame Street, Cantlon demonstrates how children’s brains change as they develop intellectual abilities like reading and math. Children whose neural maps more closely resembled the neural maps of adults in specific brain regions scored higher on standardized math and verbal tests. The research shows how naturalistic educational stimuli can be used to study brain development.