In their seminal study of chess expertise, Simon and Chase (Chase & Simon, 1973; Simon & Chase, 1973) proposed that perceptual learning was a necessary component of skill acquisition. In their view, acquisition of skill results from the strategic use of learning at multiple levels to adaptively overcome inherent limitations. The knowledge…

The orbitofrontal cortex (OBFc) has been suggested to code the motivational value of environmental stimuli and to use this information for the flexible guidance of goal-directed behavior. To examine whether information regarding reward prediction is quantitatively represented in the rat OBFc, neural activity was recorded during an olfactory…

Olfactory discrimination (OD) learning consists of two phases: an initial N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor--sensitive rule-learning phase, followed by an NMDA receptor (NMDAR)--insensitive pair-learning phase. The rule-learning phase is accompanied by changes in the composition and function of NMDARs at synapses in the piriform cortex,…

This study examines the relationship between temperament characteristics and skill manifestations or deficits in two groups of kindergarten children, one in Ohio and one in Taipei, Taiwan. Its purposes were to determine if such a relationship did exist and, if so, to see if it obtained cross-culturally. Teachers and parents assessed children on…

A study is undertaken to determine whether the nonlinguistic priority of the agent of an action facilitates the comprehension of word reference. The subjects were twelve male and twelve female infants at the one word stage of language production. The children were presented with three nonsense names (presented as part of a narration of a filmed…