The Brain, Behavior, and Learning lab studies the cognitive and neural mechanisms of human learning and development. Using behavioral methods and brain imaging, we explore how children learn to understand numbers and to reason. The lab is led by Jérôme Prado and Cléa Girard, and is part of the EDUWELL team at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL) in Lyon, France.
What we do
We study the cognitive and neural mechanisms behind children’s learning, combining behavioral experiments with brain imaging.
Learning arithmetic
How children become fluent with numbers, and why that fluency rests as much on automatizing procedures as on memorizing facts.
Reasoning
The cognitive and neural bases of reasoning, and how reasoning relates to the development of mathematical skills.
Learning difficulties
What makes mathematics hard for some children, and where dyscalculia comes from.
Latest News
Recent Publications
(2026).
Counting on automatization: The automatized counting theory of mental arithmetic.
Developmental Review.
(2026).
Developmental changes in similarity between neural representations of mental arithmetic and artificial neural networks.
iScience.
(2026).
Evaluating portable EEG: a comparison between two wireless systems (EPOC Flex and LiveAmp) and the wired BrainAmp system.
PeerJ.
(2026).
How are grammatical and arithmetic processing related in the brain? An ALE meta-analysis.
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
(2026).
Patterns of solution times for simple addition problems in 12-year-old children are not compatible with retrieval models: A rebuttal to Andras and Macizo (2025).
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.