While there is a growing body of research on second language acquisition (SLA) in children, adolescents, young and more mature adults, much remains to be explored about how adults in later life learn a new language and how good additional language learning is for them. Our goal in this article is to survey and evaluate what is known about the…

Cultural stereotypes rooted in both antiquated data and misinterpretation of data have long perpetuated the belief that older adults are unable to learn new concepts because they are doomed to lose brain cells at an alarming rate during their geriatric years. However, advances in neurophysiological technologies that allow researchers to observe…

The surgical removal of brain tissue for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy can be either nonselective, as with an anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL), or selective, as with a selective amygdalohippocampectomy (SAH). Although seizure outcomes are similar with both procedures, cognitive and memory outcomes remain a matter of debate. This study…

Loss of the Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) is associated with presumed postsynaptic deficits in mouse models of Fragile X syndrome. However, the possible presynaptic roles of FMRP in learning-related plasticity have received little attention. As a result, the mechanisms whereby FMRP influences synaptic function remain poorly…

Songbirds share a number of parallels with humans that make them an attractive model system for studying the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the learning and processing of vocal communication signals. Here we review the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms of audition in birds, and emphasize the behavioral and neural basis…

As the brain sciences make advances in our understanding of how the human brain functions, many educators are looking to findings from the neurosciences to inform classroom teaching methodologies. This paper takes the view that the neurosciences are an excellent source of knowledge regarding learning processes, but also provides a warning…

Oversimplification or inappropriate interpretation of complex neuroscience research is widespread among curricula claiming that brain-based approaches are effective for improved learning and retention. We examine recent curricula claiming to be based on neuroscience research, discuss the implications of such misinterpretation for special…

The characteristic profile of Millennial Generation students, driving many educational reforms, can be challenged by research in a number of fields including cognition, learning style, neurology, and psychology. This evidence suggests that the current aggregate view of the Millennial student may be less than accurate. Statistics show that…

The relation of stress hormones and activity in stress response systems to the development of aspects of cognition and behavior important for educational achievement and attainment is examined from the perspective of the developmental psychobiological model. It is proposed that research in neuroendocrinology supports three general conclusions,…

Long-term memories are influenced by the emotion experienced during learning as well as by the emotion experienced during memory retrieval. The present article reviews the literature addressing the effects of emotion on retrieval, focusing on the cognitive and neurological mechanisms that have been revealed. The reviewed research suggests that the…

This paper critically examines the application of research into cognitive neuroscience to educational contexts. It first considers recent warnings from within the neuroscientific community itself about the limitations of current neuroscientific knowledge and the urgent need to dispel popular "neuromyths" which have become accepted in…

Brain imaging studies have demonstrated that psychotherapy alters brain structure and function. Learning and memory, both implicit and explicit, play central roles in this process through the creation of new genetic material that leads to increased synaptic efficiency through the creation of new neuronal connections. Although there is substantial…

Post-retrieval interference with a memory has uncovered a phenomenon known to the field as reconsolidation. In this article, we will review the specific molecular mechanisms that have been implicated in reconsolidation. As a result of numerous studies over the past five years, it can now be said with a fair amount of certainty that reconsolidation…

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated as a molecular mediator of learning and memory. The BDNF gene contains four differentially regulated promoters that generate four distinct mRNA transcripts, each containing a unique noncoding 5[prime]-exon and a common 3[prime]-coding exon. This study describes novel evidence for the…

Historically, sensory systems have been largely ignored as potential loci of information storage in the neurobiology of learning and memory. They continued to be relegated to the role of "sensory analyzers" despite consistent findings of associatively induced enhancement of responses in primary sensory cortices to behaviorally important signal…