van den Bos,W.
Eppinger,B.

In this comment we provide a critical review of heuristic mod- els, making specific references to the DS and SIP models, focusing on their ability to move the field of developmental cognitive neu- roscience forward toward a mechanistic understanding of neural development. We aim to make a contribution to the debate around models by (1) providing further conceptual clarification and a framework to evaluate different types of models, and (2) by high- lighting the benefits of a stronger commitment to cognitive models in order to generate testable hypotheses and integrate different levels of analyses (including neuroscience). First, we discuss the role of heuristic models in science as frameworks for inspiration and research agenda setting. Although heuristic models are by nature simplistic, we will suggest several principles that can be used to evaluate them. Next we discuss one direction that could be taken to foster the transition from heuristic models to cognitive neuroscience models, from agenda setting to hypothesis testing.

van den Bos, W., & Eppinger, B. (2016). Developing developmental cognitive neuroscience: from agenda setting to hypothesis testing. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 138-144. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.011 (Full text)

Publication year	2016
Document type:	Article
Publication status:	Published
External URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.011 View
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