The consolidation process stabilizes a new initially labile memory. This consolidation could operate on a shorter timescale during wakefulness after initial motor learning. Within micro-offline learning states, sequences of simple individual actions learned through interleaved practice are condensed into a unified skill through a time-dependent…

Abundant behavioral studies have demonstrated high comorbidity of reading and handwriting difficulties in developmental dyslexia (DD), a neurological condition characterized by unexpectedly low reading ability despite adequate nonverbal intelligence and typical schooling. The neural correlates of handwriting deficits remain largely unknown;…

The aim of this review is to consider how current vocabulary training methods could be optimized by considering recent scientific insights in how the brain represents conceptual knowledge. We outline the findings from several methods of vocabulary training. In each case, we consider how taking an embodied cognition perspective could impact word…

Since Broca's studies on language processing, cortical functional specialization has been considered to be integral to efficient neural processing. A fundamental question in cognitive neuroscience concerns the type of learning that is required for functional specialization to develop. To address this issue with respect to the development of neural…

Three major "neural systems", specialized for different types of information processing, are the sensory, declarative, and procedural systems. It has been proposed ("Trends Neurosci.",30(4), 135-141) that dyslexia may be attributable to impaired function in the procedural system together with intact declarative function. We provide a brief…

It is widely accepted that the brain processes biological and non-biological movements in distinct neural circuits. Biological motion, in contrast to non-biological motion, refers to active movements of living beings. Aim of our experiment was to investigate the mechanisms underlying mental simulation of these two movement types. Subjects had to…

Mirror neurons are increasingly recognized as a crucial substrate for many developmental processes, including imitation and social learning. Although there has been considerable progress in describing their function and localization in the primate and adult human brain, we still know little about their ontogeny. The idea that mirror neurons result…

Adaptive motor actions require prior knowledge of instrumental contingencies. With practice, these actions can become highly automatic in nature. However, the molecular and anatomical substrates mediating these related forms of learning are not understood. In the present study, we used in situ hybridization to measure the mRNA levels of two…

Previous research with both brain-damaged and neurologically intact populations has demonstrated that the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) is superior to the left cerebral hemisphere (LH) at detecting anomalies (or incongruities) in objects (Ramachandran, 1995; Smith, Tays, Dixon, & Bulman-Fleming, 2002). The current research assesses whether the RH…

This book provides an introduction to the current scientific understanding of the human brain and its processes. Chapter 1, "At the Edge of a Major Transformation," is an introduction to the field. Chapter 2, "How Our Brain Organizes Itself on the Cellular and Systems Levels," covers what body/brain cellular systems do, how…