Plasticity is a neural phenomenon in which experience induces long-lasting changes to neuronal circuits and is at the center of most neurobiological theories of learning and memory. However, too much plasticity is maladaptive and must be balanced with substrate stability. Area CA3 of the hippocampus provides such a balance via hemispheric…

When learning from texts, it is not only important that learners remember and comprehend the content, but also that they monitor and accurately judge their memory and comprehension so as to efficiently regulate their learning. In the present experiment with 51 university students, we investigated to what extent headings within texts promote these…

We tested whether second language (L2) learners rely more on explicit memory during structural priming at lower than at higher proficiency levels (Hartsuiker & Bernolet, 2017). We compared within-L2 priming with lexical overlap in 100 low and 100 high proficiency French L2 speakers under low versus high working memory load conditions induced…

Background: Inconsistent observations of pupillary response and blink change in response to different specific tasks raise questions regarding the relationship between eye measures, task types and working memory (WM) models. On the one hand, studies have provided mixed evidence from eye measures about tasks: pupil size has mostly been reported to…

Implicit learning theories suggest that we update syntactic knowledge based on prior experience (e.g., Chang et al., 2006). To determine the limits of the extent to which implicit learning can influence syntactic processing, we investigated whether structural priming effects persist up to 1 month postexposure, and whether they persist less long in…

Contribution: This article features a systematic literature review with the objective of presenting a study that reflects the current scenario of research on the cognitive load theory (CLT) in the domain of teaching and learning computer programming. Background: Computer programming is a highly cognitive skill, requiring mastering multiple…

The present dissertation reports two experiments that examine implicit and explicit language learning methods and their impacts on early vocabulary, grammar, and phonological acquisition, in addition to working memory, proactive/reactive control, and fluid intelligence, as well as learner motivation. Experiment 1 investigated adult L2 acquisition…

Sleep disturbances (SD) are prevalent in individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Less is known about the effects of SD on cognition and learning in adolescents with high-functioning ASD (HF-ASD). Adolescents with HF-ASD (N = 96) were evaluated for the relationships of SD to working memory and learning problems. Results found SD…

This systematic literature review examines the relationship between restricted and reduced sleep and school performance, learning and cognitive functioning in typically developing adolescents. Correlational and experimental data were evaluated from 17 studies which included participants ranging from 11 to 19 years in studies from seven countries…

This study investigated the interactions among different cognitive abilities, linguistic structures, and the efficacy of different corrective feedback (CF) types. The cognitive abilities examined were declarative and procedural memory. The target linguistic structures were English regular and irregular past tense forms. In terms of the…

Research suggests new foreign language (FL) words are learned more easily if their phonology follows the phonotactic rules of the native language. Very little is known, however, about the impact of orthography on FL learning. This study investigated the cognitive mechanisms supporting the learning of words with familiar and unfamiliar…

Recent context-control learning studies have shown that switch costs are reduced in a particular context predicting a high probability of switching as compared to another context predicting a low probability of switching. These context-specific switch probability effects suggest that control of task sets, through experience, can become associated…

The imagination effect occurs when students learn better from imagining concepts and procedures rather than from studying them. Cognitive load theory explains the effect by better use of available working memory resources and increased productive, intrinsic cognitive load. The effect has been found in numerous empirical studies. However, in the…

Within the context of complex cognitive processing and educational interventions, Woolfolk (2016) makes reference to problem solving acquisition, problem solving retention, and problem solving transfer. In each of the aforementioned types of problem solving activities, problem identification and problem representation (reflecting procedural…

Cognitive load theory (CLT) uses working memory resources depletion to explain the superiority of spaced learning, predicting that working memory resources will be less taxed if there are resting/spacing periods inserted between learning tasks, in comparison to learning from the same tasks in a single session. This article uses the working memory…