Helmholtz Institute

Agenda

14 February 2025
16:00 - 17:00

Helmholtz Lecture Eveline Crone, February 14: Neural connections facilitate developmental needs for societal change

Helmholtz lecture Eveline Crone (Erasmus SYNC lab, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands)

Title: Neural connections facilitate developmental needs for societal change

Abstract: The current generation of adolescents is confronted with complex societal challenges such as a climate crisis, growing social inequalities, and increasing societal expectations (i.e., performance pressure). Adolescents may have the unique skills to become ‘agents of change’ to find our way out of these societal challenges. The developmental period of adolescence is characterized by maturation of neural connections which facilitate three fundamental developmental needs: the need to take risks, the need to form deep and intimate connections and the need to be seen, heard and respected. A unique aspect about neural pruning and protracted brain development is that adolescence is a window of opportunity: given the large-scale changes in the developing brain, it is a period of creativity and rapid social adaptation. In this talk, I will present a novel – transdisciplinary – framework which can lead to evidence-informed policy, in which adolescents have an active role. I will discuss the added value of youth participation in developmental neuroscience for researchers, policy makers and youth themselves, and I will present successful examples of projects where youth organizations, scientists, and policy makers collaborated to work towards optimizing conditions for growing up successfully. I discuss how this framework can contribute to a new research agenda within the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, the GUTS gravitation program and beyond, using living labs which facilitate active societal collaborations. 

Bio: Prof. Eveline Crone is Distinguished Professor in Developmental Neuroscience in Society at Erasmus University Rotterdam and affiliated Professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Her Society, Youth and Neuroscience Connected (SYNC) lab examines the psychological and neural processes involved in self-regulation and social development from birth to adulthood, with a special focus on adolescence. Her research relies strongly on neuroscience and translational approaches, involving societal partners and youth in the full research cycle and with a direct link to youth policy. She leads the 10-year Growing Up Together in Society (GUTS) Gravitation program (2023-2033) a large-scale multi-site program in the Netherlands on adolescent neural and social development. Eveline is current President of Flux, the international Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. She is past Vice-President of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), the European Commission’s excellence program for Frontiers Research. Eveline is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the British Academy (UK) and the National Academy of Sciences (USA).

Location: Ruppert building room Paars (Purple), Leuvenlaan 21 3584 CE Utrecht

Helmholtz Lectures take place from 4 to 5pm, with drinks afterwards near the lecture room.

Helmholtz agenda: https://helmholtzschool.nl/category/agenda/

Follow us on Twitter: @HelmholtzSchool (https://twitter.com/HelmholtzSchool)