Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D.

Faculty Profile

Our new online course is available! Neuroscience & the classroom: Making connections

Selected Publications

Articles in peer-reviewed journals

Chiao, J. Y., & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2013). Modularity and the Cultural Mind: Contributions of Cultural Neuroscience to Cognitive Theory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(1), 56-61. doi: 10.1177/1745691612469032

Yang X-F, Bossmann J, Schiffhauer B, Jordan M and Immordino-Yang MH (2013) Intrinsic default mode network connectivity predicts spontaneous verbal descriptions of autobiographical memories during social processing Frontiers in Cognition.. 3:592. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00592 - Online Article

Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2013, in press). Studying the effects of culture by integrating neuroscientific with ethnographic approaches. Psychological Inquiry.

Pavarini, G., Schnall, S. & Immordino-Yang, M.H. (under review). Verbal and Nonverbal Indicators of Psychological Distance in Moral Elevation and Admiration for Skill.

Immordino-Yang, M.H., Yang, X.-F. & Damasio, H. (under review). Neurobiological correlates of emotional feelings in Los Angeles and Beijing.

Saxbe, D.E., Yang, X.-F., Borofsky, L.A. & Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2012). The Embodiment of Emotion: Language use during the feeling of social emotions predicts cortical somatosensory activity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. doi: 10.1093/scan/nss075

Immordino-Yang, M.H., Christodoulou, J.A., Singh, V. (2012). Rest is Not Idleness: Implications of the Brain's Default Mode for Human Development and Education. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 7(4), 352-365. - Online Article

Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2011). Musings on the neurobiological and evolutionary origins of creativity via a developmental analysis of one child's poetry. LEARNing Landscapes. 5(1), 133-139. - Online Issue

Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Singh, V. (2011). Hippocampal contributions to the processing of social emotions. Human Brain Mapping. doi: 10.1002/hbm.21485

Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2011). Implications of affective and social neuroscience for educational theory. Educational Philosophy and Theory. 43(1), 98-103. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00713.x

Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2011). Me, my "self" and you: Neuropsychological relations between social emotion, self awareness, and morality. Emotion Review. 3(3), 313-315. doi:10.1177/1754073911402391

Immordino-Yang, M.H, Chiao, J. Y. & Fiske, A. P. (2010). Neural re-use in the social and emotional brain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 33(4), 275-276.

Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2010). Toward a microdevelopmental, interdisciplinary approach to social emotion. Emotion Review. 2(3), 217-220

Immordino-Yang, M. H. & Sylvan, L. (2010). Admiration for virtue: Neuroscientific perspectives on a motivating emotion. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 35(2), 110-115

Immordino-Yang, M.H., McColl, A., Damasio, H., Damasio, A. (2009). Neural correlates of admiration and compassion.PNAS. 106(19) 8021-8026.- Online Article
Supporting Information

Commentary:

Haidt, J. & Morris, J.P. (2009) Finding the self in self-transcendent emotions. PNAS. 106(19) 7687-7688. - Online Article

Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2008). The smoke around mirror neurons: Goals as sociocultural and emotional organizers of perception and action in learning. Mind, Brain, and Education. 2(2) 67-73.

Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2008). The stories of Nico and Brooke revisited: Toward a cross-disciplinary dialogue about teaching and learning. Mind, Brain, and Education. 2(2) 49-51.

Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2007). A tale of two cases: Lessons for education from the study of two boys living with half their brains. Mind, Brain and Education. 1(2), 66-83.

Commentaries:

	Ablin, J. L. (2008). Learning as problem design versus problem solving: Making the connection between cognitive neuroscience research and educational practice. Mind, Brain, and Education. 2(2), 52-54.
	Christoff, K. (2008). Applying neuroscientific findings to education: The good, the tough, and the hopeful. Mind, Brain, and Education. 2(2), 55-58.
	Snow, C. (2008). Varied developmental trajectories: Lessons for educators. Mind, Brain, and Education. 2(2), 59-61.
	van Geert, P. & Steenbeek, H. (2008). Brains and the dynamics of "wants" and "cans" in learning. Mind, Brain, and Education. 2(2), 62-66.

Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Damasio, A.R. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain and Education. 1(1), 3-10.

Reprinted in Jossey-Bass Reader on the Brain and Learning. (pp.183-198). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Reprinted in Parkay, F.W., Hass, G. J. & Anctil, E. J. (Eds.), Curriculum Leadership: Readings for Developing Quality Educational Programs, 9th Edition, Allyn and Bacon.

Commentaries by teachers:

	Volkman, J. (Winter 2011) Inspiration, action and peace. Public School Montessorian. Issue 90 - Online Feature
	Baylin, E. (2010). Depth of field/depth of understanding. Schools: Studies in Education. 7(1), 86-100.
	Blodget, A. (Spring 2009) Motivation: Making room for the self in school. Independent School. 68(3) - Online Feature

Fischer, K.W., Daniel, D.B., Immordino-Yang, M.H., Stern, E., Battro, A. & Koizumi, H. (2007). Why Mind, Brain, and Education? Why now? Mind, Brain, and Education. 1(1), 1-2.

Book chapters, monographs, edited books

	Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Christodoulou, J.C. (2013, in press) Neuroscientific contributions to understanding and measuring emotions in educational contexts. In R. Pekrun & L. Linnenbrink-Garcia (Eds.), Handbook of emotions in education. Taylor and Francis/Routledge
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Singh, V. (2011). Perspectives from social and affective neuroscience on the design of digital learning technologies. In R. Calvo & S. D'Mello (Eds.), New Perspectives on Affect and Learning Technologies. (pp.233-241) Sydney: Springer. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Fischer, K.W. (2010). Neuroscience bases of learning. In V. G. Aukrust (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Education, 3rd Edition. (pp.310-316) Oxford: Elsevier. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M. H. & Faeth, M. (2009). The role of emotion and skilled intuition in learning. (pp.66-81) In D. A. Sousa (Ed.), Mind, Brain, and Education. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Fischer, K. W. (2009). Brain Development. (pp. 254-256) In I. Weiner & E. Craighead (Eds.), Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2009). Social neuroscience and its application to education. (pp. 15-22) In S. Feifer & G. Rattan (Eds.), Emotional Disorders: A Neuropsychological, Psychopharmacological, and Educational Perspective. Middletown, MD: School Neuropsychology Press. - Link to Book
	Fischer, K.W. & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2008). The fundamental importance of the brain and learning for education. (pp. 183-198) In Jossey-Bass Reader on the Brain and Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2007). Introduction & Chapter 3: Compensation after losing half of the brain. In A. Nava (Ed.), Critical issues in brain science and pedagogy (pp. 3-4, 45-54) San Francisco: McGraw Hill. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Deacon, T. (2007). An evolutionary perspective on reading and reading disorders? In K.W. Fischer, J. H. Bernstein & M.H. Immordino-Yang (Eds.), Mind, brain and education in reading disorders. (pp. 16-29) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H., & Fischer, K.W. (2007). Dynamic development of hemispheric biases in three cases: Cognitive/hemispheric cycles, music, and hemispherectomy. In D. Coch, K. W. Fischer & G. Dawson (Eds.), Human Behavior, Learning and the Developing Brain: Vol.1. Typical Development (pp. 74-111). New York, NY: Guilford Press. - Link to Book
	Fischer, K.W., Bernstein, J.H. & Immordino-Yang, M.H. (Eds.). (2007). Mind, brain and education in reading disorders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
	Fischer, K.W., Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Waber, D. (2007). Toward a grounded synthesis of mind, brain, and education for reading disorders: An Introduction to the field and this book. In K. W. Fischer, J. H. Bernstein, & M. H. Immordino-Yang (Eds.), Mind, brain and education in reading disorders. (pp. 3-15) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Link to Book
	Katzir, T., Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Fischer, K.W. (2007). Mind, Brain, and Education in the Era of Globalization. In M. M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Learning in the Global Era: International Perspectives on Globalization and Education. (pp. 85-103) Berkeley, CA: University of California Press/Ross Institute. - Link to Book
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2003). A tale of two cases: Comprehension of affective prosody after right and left hemispherectomy. In Supplement to the proceedings of the 28th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, MA: Cascadilla Press online.

Selected Laboratory Conference Papers/Posters

	Yang, X.-F., Wong, S. W. H. & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (June, 2012). Heart rate deceleration predicts BOLD activity in default mode regions during emotion processing. Presented as a poster and invited talk at the 18th annual meeting of Human Brain Mapping, Beijing, China.
	Yang, X.-F., Pavarini, G., Schnall, S., Immordino-Yang, M. H. (May, 2012). Spontaneous gaze aversion during interview-induced moral elevation predicts subsequent default network activation. Presented at the 2012 Association for Psychological Science Convention, Chicago, IL.
	Yang, X.- F. & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (March, 2012). Resting cardiac vagal control and cultural background contribute to emotion responses during compassion for physical pain. Presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (January, 2012). Embodied brains, social minds: Neural and behavioral correlates of social emotion in Los Angeles and Beijing. Invited talk to the preconference session on Cultural Psychology, organized by Y. Chentsova-Dutton, J. Leu, J. Chiao, A. Cohen at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA. Link to a video recording of the talk is forthcoming on the SPSP website.
	Yang, X.- F., Wong, S. W. H. & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (November, 2010). Resting Cardiac Vagal Activity Predicts Heart Rate Change during Compassion for Physical Pain. Presented at the 40th annual meeting of Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA.
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Sylvan, L. (April, 2009). Revisiting the role of non-conscious processes in motivation: Neuroscientific perspectives. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, San Diego, CA. In M. Bong (Chair), Another step forward to motivational science: Whether, what, when and how neurobiological research can contribute to understanding student motivation.
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2004). A tale of two cases: Emotion and prosody after hemispherectomy. Published online by the American Educational Research Association, Brain and Neurosciences Special Interest Group. www.tc.umn.edu/~athe0007/BNEsig/papers/Immordino-Yang.pdf
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2003). A tale of two cases: Comprehension of affective prosody after right and left hemispherectomy. In Supplement to the proceedings of the 28th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, MA: Cascadilla Press online.

Articles in non peer-reviewed journals/magazines, popular press articles for teachers, book reviews, and other resources

	Brochure for the free online course for teachers, other educators, parents, and others who work with children, "Neuroscience and the Classroom: Making Connections," funded by Annenberg Learner, produced by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Science Media Group. MHI-Y is content director. Now Available at www.learner.org/courses/neuroscience
	Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2009). Transforming education through neuroscience award recipient: Kurt Fischer. Mind Brain and Education, 3(4), 218-219.
	Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2008, July 10). Emotions, Social Relationships, and the Brain: Implications for the Classroom. ASCD Express, 3(20).
	Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2008, July 12). Strange Lessons. New Scientist, 44-45
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2008). Review of the book, How the body shapes the way we think: A new view of intelligence, by Rolf Pfeifer and Josh Bongard (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007). European Legacy, 13(6).
	Immordino-Yang, M.H. (2001). When 2 + 2 makes kids trip: Making sense of brain research in the classroom. Basic Education, 45(8), 16-19.

Presentation Slides

Please feel free to use the selected slides for presentations. Please make sure to always include the appropriate citation. You may not alter the slides in any way. Any request to alter the content must be addressed directly to Dr. Immordino-Yang.

Video Resources

We feel therefore we learn: the neuroscience of social emotion
Presented at the conference on Mind and Its Potential, Sydney, Australia.
November, 2011

TEDx talk on the future of learning
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang discusses how admiration inspires purposeful learning.
October 22, 2011

Neurobiological perspectives on creativity as a social emotional process
Keynote lecture on creativity at the Utah Valley University Arts in Education Conference, Orem, UT. Dr. Immordino-Yang's presentation begins at 33 minutes
October 1, 2010

Social affective neuroscience, cultural differences, and implications for education in a global world
Presented at the Ross Global Academy International Conference on Emotion and Learning, East Hampton, NY.

August 25, 2009

The relevance of social and affective neuroscience to education
Presented at the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.

March 3, 2008

Neuroscience & the Classroom: Making Connections
Unit 3: Seeing Others from the Self

Dr. Immordino-Yang discusses the relationship between the study of social emotions and education.

Selected Media Coverage

The Science of Social Learning: The Research of Mary Helen Immordino-Yang USC's Rossier School of Education Reviews the Research of Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang March 4, 2013
Learning with a Purpose Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and Dr. Howard Gardner led a recent discussion on empathy and education in the digital age -Link to Article -Link to Talk March 1, 2013
Les Emotions Comment les decrypter? Immordino-Yang's research was featured in the premier French magazine, Le monde de l'intelligence February-March Issue, 2013
'Noncognitive' Measres: The Next Frontier in College Admissions The Chronicle of Higher Education featured Immordino-Yang's research as the lead story. January 14, 2013
Can Daydreaming Improve Academics? USCNews features Immordino-Yang's article, "Rest Is Not Idleness." May 9, 2012
An Inspirational Look at Poetry USCNews features Immordino-Yang's article, "Musings on the Neurobiological and Evolutionary Origins of Creativity." December 13, 2011
Inspiring Stories Can Lead to Empathy USCNews features Immordino-Yang's article, "Hippocampal contributions to the processing of social emotions." October 20, 2011
Interview on The Science Network Tamar Katzir, Joanna Christodoulou, and Mary Helen Immordino-Yang discuss with Roger Bingham topics ranging from reading ability, to the brain's default mode and its relevance to internal reflection in education, to teacher education and the progressing field of Mind, Brain, and Education. June 2, 2011
Profile in APS Observer, Summer 2011 Immordino-Yang is identified by the Association of Psychological Science as "Rising Star." 2011
Interview on The Science Network Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Mary Helen Immordino-Yang discuss with Roger Bingham the future of educational neuroscience, with ethical and societal considerations. November 16, 2010
PNAS Podcast Interviewed by Jonathan Lifland for the National Academy of Science's "Science Sessions" podcasts, concerning the research leading to the Cozzarelli Prize. April 25, 2010
APS Article "APS Member Immordino-Yang Receives Cozzarelli Prize." Observer Apr. 2010: 7.
Cozzarelli Prize Page "The annual award acknowledges recently published papers that reflect scientific excellence and originality."
NPR Interview Compassion: Easier For A Broken Leg Than Heart April 13, 2009
MBE award Dr. Immordino-Yang is the inaugural recipient of the Transforming Education through Neuroscience award. February 9, 2008