Research investigating how the brain develops and learns profoundly impacts education. Understanding the brain mechanisms responsible for learning and memory and the factors that influence them, such as age, environment, emotions, and motivation, can transform educational strategies by contributing to the development of programs that optimize…

Cognitive load theory provides instructional recommendations based on our knowledge of human cognition. Evolutionary psychology is used to assume that knowledge should be divided into biologically primary information that we have specifically evolved to acquire and biologically secondary information that we have not specifically evolved to…

Personality results from the complex interactions among multiple learning and memory systems. There is a need to examine the personality-learning association using a personality model that captures this complexity: Cloninger's psychobiological model. The study addresses this need using a person-centered approach. In total, 686 adolescents…

The neuronal systems that promote protective defensive behaviours have been studied extensively using Pavlovian conditioning. In this paradigm, an initially neutral-conditioned stimulus is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus leading the subjects to display behavioural signs of fear. Decades of research into the neural bases of this…

Signaling via the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway has emerged as one of the key mechanisms in the development of the central nervous system in "Drosophila melanogaster." By contrast, little is known about the functions of EGFR signaling in the differentiated larval brain. Here, promoter-reporter lines of EGFR and its most prominent…

New neurons are generated daily in the hippocampus during adult life. They are integrated into the existing neuronal circuits according to several factors such as age, physical exercise and hormonal status. At present, the role of these new neurons is debated. Computational simulations of hippocampal function allow the effects of neurogenesis to…

Posttraining rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been reported to be important for efficient memory consolidation. The present results demonstrate increases in the intensity of REM sleep during the night of sleep following cognitive procedural/implicit task acquisition. These REM increases manifest as increases in total number of rapid eye…

Draws upon recent publications dealing with brain function (particularly F. Vester, "Denken, Lernen, Vergessen", Munich, 1978) for ideas for foreign language teaching. These include constant use of the foreign language in the classroom, frequent repetition, and avoidance of false associations by explanation in the native language.…

Describes the biological basis of learning and individuality. Presents an overview of recent discoveries that suggest learning engages a simple set of rules that modify the strength of connection between neurons in the brain. The changes are cited as playing an important role in making each individual unique. (MCO)

The material presented in this article is intended to help students learn how to learn. The seven key concepts of David Ausubel's assimilation theory for cognitive learning are discussed with reference to the classroom. Concept mapping is suggested as a tool for demonstrating how the seven key concepts function. (SA)