Dr. Jessica Cantlon

Professor

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Biography

Jessica Cantlon is the Ronald J. Mary Ann Zdrojkowski Professor of Developmental Neuroscience/Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Psychology within the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her research employs behavioral neuroimaging methods to explore the origins of quantitative reasoning in humans, including adults, children, and non-human primates. Jessica's work demonstrates the impact of early-developing, evolutionarily primitive nonverbal concepts on human thought processes. Through her behavioral methods, she has observed parallel numerical processing capabilities in both human children and non-human primates. Utilization of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revealed that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is involved in processing quantitative information in children as young as four years old. Her research elucidates the primitive cognitive and neural bases of the development of human mathematical cognition, which is derived from ancient evolutionary processes.

Research Interests

Requirements for Carnegie Mellon University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
GRE General
Verbal
Required:158
Quantitative
Required:149
Analytical Writing
Required:4
Overall
Required:4
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in Psychology or related field Research experience/publications
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts
  • GRE scores (optional but reported in profile)
  • English Proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo)
Specialization Notes

Admission is extremely competitive with no strict GPA cut-offs; holistic review is used.