Objective: We offer an overview of ADHD research using mouse models of nicotine exposure. Method: Nicotine exposure of C57BL/6 or Swiss Webster mice occurred during prenatal period only or during the prenatal and the preweaning periods. Behavioral, neuroanatomical and neurotransmitter assays were used to investigate neurobiological mechanisms of…

Many individuals with autism experience challenges using language in social contexts (i.e., pragmatic language). Characterizing and understanding pragmatic variability is important to inform intervention strategies and the etiology of communication challenges in autism; however, current manual coding-based methods are often time and labor…

Genetic and environmental factors account for variability in a range of developmental outcomes, including socioeconomic status (SES). The challenge is to find ways to incorporate genetic information based on studies using biologically related family members (i.e., studies not involving twins). To address this issue, we computed polygenic scores…

Results from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) can be used to generate a polygenic score (PGS), an individual-level measure summarizing identified genetic influence on a trait dispersed across the genome. For complex, behavioral traits, the association between an individual's PGS and their phenotype may contain bias (from geographic,…

The integration of scientific modeling into science teaching is key to the development of students' understanding of complex scientific phenomena, such as genetics. With this in mind, we conducted an introductory hands-on module during an outreach gene technology laboratory on the structure of DNA. Our module examined the influence of two model…

There is emerging interest on the interactions between modelling and argumentation in specific contexts, such as genetics learning. It has been suggested that modelling might help students understand and argue on genetics. We propose modelling gene expression as a way to learn molecular genetics and diseases with a genetic component. The study is…

Advanced modeling of item response data through the item response theory (IRT) or item factor analysis frameworks is becoming increasingly popular. In the social and behavioral sciences, the underlying structure of tests/assessments is often multidimensional (i.e., more than 1 latent variable/construct is represented in the items). This review…

Purpose: The extant literature suggests that individual differences in speech perception can be linked to broad receptive language phenotype. For example, a recent study found that individuals with a smaller receptive vocabulary showed diminished lexically guided perceptual learning compared to individuals with a larger receptive vocabulary. Here,…

A strong relationship between creativity and major depression has been attested to in many past studies. These suggest a correlation between high creative propensity and the prevalence of depression as well as attribute the implementation of creative tasks in therapy with the facilitation and reduction of depressive symptoms. This article supports…

There is considerable variability in the extent to which young people with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience mental health difficulties. What drives these individual differences remains unclear. In the current article, data from the Twin Early Development Study were used to investigate the genetic and environmental influences on…

In the multidisciplinary field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, statistical associations between levels of description play an increasingly important role. One example of such associations is the observation of correlations between relatively common gene variants and individual differences in behavior. It is perhaps surprising that such…

Dealing with multiple external representations (MERs) in science education is the key to students' understanding of science communication and becoming scientifically literate. It is generally accepted that learning scientific concepts, processes, and principles requires understanding and interacting with MERs. Science can be understood as a…

With memory encoding reliant on persistent changes in the properties of synapses, a key question is how can memories be maintained from days to months or a lifetime given molecular turnover? It is likely that positive feedback loops are necessary to persistently maintain the strength of synapses that participate in encoding. Such feedback may…

This study aimed to measure the contribution of summarizing and questioning in the Reading-Questioning-Answering (RQA) learning model integrated with mind mapping on the genetic learning outcomes. This study was a correlational research and has been analyzed using multiple regressions. Mind mapping, summarizing, and questioning were positioned as…

Emerging findings from studies with infants at familial high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), owing to an older sibling with a diagnosis, suggest that those who go on to develop ASD show early impairments in the processing of stimuli with both social and non-social content. Although ASD is defined by social-communication impairments and…