Developmental Disorders, Learning and Memory is the topic of interest. There are numerous development disorders which impair working memory hence negatively influencing learning and memory to the patients. Working memory is a component of the executive function which is involved in the organizational aspect of memory and goal-directed behavior. However, development disorders which have adverse on cognitive functions influence learning and memory. Some of the development disorders include dyslexia, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability (ID), autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These are development disorders which influence the information process, storage and a wide range of complex cognitive tasks creating a desire for the investigation to establish how they influence memory and learning.

Moreau, D., & Waldie, K. E. (2016). Developmental Learning Disorders: From Generic Interventions to Individualized Remediation. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 2053. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02053

The author argues that development learning disorders affect children, impairing their experience of learning in the classroom. Dyslexia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two learning disorders that are evaluated by the authors, where they claim they cannot be linked to the inadequate learning environment or the intellectual ability of the children but rather to the underlying brain function (Moreau & Waldie, 2016). Maturation of the prefrontal areas enables and support executive function such as reading and cognitive processes. In the early stages, neural activity may be disorganized and inefficient which eventually transit to a better efficient system (Moreau & Waldie, 2016). However, the transition phase is defective to individuals affected with affected by dyslexia and ADHD. Additionally, variation in the cerebral lateralization related to language processing and executive functions is another mechanism responsible for dyslexia and ADHD which influences learning and working memory (Moreau & Waldie, 2016).

In the study, it is revealed that between 5 and 10% of the population experience severe dyslexia or ADHD (Moreau & Waldie, 2016). These are human behaviors that are affected by the deficiency in the brain and neural activity, which cannot be remediated through improving the learning environment nor are they related to the intellectual ability of the children.

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Holmes, J., Guy, J., Kievit, R. A., Bryant, A., Mareva, S., & Gathercole, S. E. (2020). Cognitive dimensions of learning in children with problems in attention, learning, and memory. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2020-85078-001.pdf

Authors claim that the cognitive dimensions influence learning outcomes. The study established that reading achievement is linked to processing speed, reading and spelling abilities strongly positively linked to phonological processing skills while mathematical skills are linked to executive skills (Holmes et al.., 2020). Children with learning-related difficulties such as ADHD exhibited low mathematical skills, processing speed and reading abilities. This is because the brain and nervous system components responsible for these behaviors are defective such as defective executive skills.

In the study, children with ADHD performed significantly more poorly than those without ADHD. Phonological processing which was used to assess reading was stronger in children without ADHD, and the same results were obtained with executive skills which assessed mathematical abilities (Holmes et al.., 2020). This denotes that development disorders that affect the brain and nervous system functions, significantly influence human behaviors such as reading.

A Quasi-experiment research design was used in the study. This is because the researcher were determined to use children with ADHD and without ADHD to establish how human behaviors are influenced by the deficiency in the cognitive dimensions.

In the research, children between the age of 5 and 18 years were used, where researchers used guardians to acquired informed consent to have the children included in the study which met the inclusion criteria (Holmes et al.., 2020). This ethical principle issue was dealt with sufficiently because none of the participants was engaged in the study without permission from a guardian or referrer.

Androschuk, A., Al-Jabri, B., & Bolduc, F. V. (2015). From learning to memory: what flies can tell us about intellectual disability treatment. Frontiers in psychiatry, 6, 85. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00085

According to the authors, long-term memory formation requires protein synthesis in the dorso-anterior-lateral neurons (DAL) (Androschuk, Al-Jabri & Bolduc, 2015). It is revealed that information is initially stored in the hippocampus, and later transferred for long-term storage in the cortex for explicit memory and cerebellum and basal ganglia for implicit memory. Excessive synthesis of protein impact working memory hence the need for a mechanism to regulate the production of proteins.

It is revealed that patients with intellectual disabilities might not be having learning and memory defects but they could be suffering from mental ability defects which limits their cognitive performance (Androschuk, Al-Jabri & Bolduc, 2015). Additionally, working memory defects have been exhibited in children with intellectual disability and also in children with normal IQ (Androschuk, Al-Jabri & Bolduc, 2015). This shows a deficiency in the brain and nervous systems indicates by the defects in the working memory contributes to learning disability and intellectual disability.

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To a great extent, advancement in technology has promoted research on human behavior. With technology, areas that had not been navigated have been navigated providing a better understanding of human behavior. For example, microarrays have been used to identify the postsynaptic domain (PSD) protein SHANK2 gene (Androschuk, Al-Jabri & Bolduc, 2015).

Development disorders, working memory and learning have a foundational basis on the brain and nervous system. It is the defects in the brain and nervous system components which are involved with executive skills, information processing, phonological processing which defects in the working memory and learning difficulties.

Learning difficulties and defect on the working memory are development disorders which are caused by the defect on the brain and nervous system.

Ethics in biopsychology has not been taken seriously in the past because some development disorders people used to assume they occur naturally and exhibited human behaviors might be related to the brain, neurotransmitters and other aspects of biology. However, ethics is now integrated into biopsychology studies, seeking to establish how the brain and nervous systems are related to cognitive dimensions and other human behaviors (Holmes et al.., 2020).

Assessment of literacy in the limited clinic time, limitation of tests to a single word reading and spelling, lack of measure to measure comprehension of understanding of a text, and non-representing of rigid mapping of tasks are some of the limitations in the study that would be addressed in the future research.

How ADHD and dyslexia disorders are linked to the brain and nervous system and influence human behavior?