The Guardian – Judy Willis
“Exam season can be especially stressful for children in primary school; many of their high-brain neural networks, which manage emotions such as stress, won’t have been built yet. Neuro-imaging research shows that stress blocks communication from the upper cognitive brain down to the brain’s lower core, which is more emotionally reactive. This means that just when children need it most, they have limited access to the upper-brain regions that help self-control, and access to their high-brain cortex where the memories they need are stored. Under pressure students can become emotional and find it hard to remember vital information…But neuroscience can also help solve this problem. Understanding more about how their brains work enables students to develop techniques for remembering and accessing information when they need it.”(more)