Researcher of the Month: Kaisa Lohvansuu

Jyväskylä Brain and Mind consists of researchers doing neuroscientific research in different disciplines at the University of Jyväskylä. “Researcher of the month” introduces the people of our community, and their current research news.
Researcher of the Month: Kaisa Lohvansuu

Kaisa Lohvansuu, Postdoctoral Researcher

Hi Kaisa! Who are you and what do you do at JYU?

My name is Kaisa Lohvansuu, and I work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä. I am leading brain studies of a project called EarlyMath - Pathways to math difficulties - A longitudinal study from birth to school-age.

What is your current research interest?

I am currently investigating very early factors leading to mathematical learning difficulties. We use EEG method to measure brain responses of babies (in newborns and in six months of age) aiming to capture very early indices related to mathematical processing. These indices are later compared with cognitive skills of children which are examined when the children are older.

What do you think would be interesting to research in the future?

During my research career I have studied developing brain and brain processing related to developmental learning difficulties related to reading and mathematics. In the future, I would like to continue on the same path, but adding more varied research methods and age groups aiming to put the pieces of findings together. I also feel that in order to compound fragmented research findings, there is a need for longitudinal and intergenerational studies, and meta-analyses for better and more holistic understanding of neurocognitive development and learning.

Some of Kaisa's recent published studies:

  1. Azaiez, N., Loberg, O., Lohvansuu, K., Ylinen, S., Hämäläinen, J. A., & Leppänen, P. H. T. (2023). Discriminatory Brain Processes of Native and Foreign Language in Children with and without Reading Difficulties. Brain Sciences, 13(1), Article 76.
  2. Lohvansuu, K., Torppa, M., Ahonen, T., Eklund, K., Hämäläinen, J. A., Leppänen, P. H. T., & Lyytinen, H. (2021). Unveiling the Mysteries of Dyslexia : Lessons Learned from the Prospective Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia. Brain Sciences, 11(4), Article 427.
  3. Lohvansuu, K., Hämäläinen, J., Ervast, L., Lyytinen, H., & Leppänen, P. H. (2018). Longitudinal interactions between brain and cognitive measures on reading development from 6 months to 14 years. Neuropsychologia, 108, 6-12.
  4. Hämäläinen, J., Landi, N., Loberg, O., Lohvansuu, K., Pugh, K., & Leppänen, P. H. (2018). Brain event-related potentials to phoneme contrasts and their correlation to reading skills in school-age children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42(3), 357-372.