This study investigated the motor strategy involved in mental rotation tasks by examining 2 types of spontaneous gestures (hand-object interaction gestures, representing the agentive hand action on an object, vs. object-movement gestures, representing the movement of an object by itself) and different types of verbal descriptions of rotation.…

The present study investigates the performance of persons with reading disabilities (PRD) on a variety of sequential visual-comparison tasks that have different working-memory requirements. In addition, mediating relationships between the sequential comparison process and attention and memory skills were looked for. Our findings suggest that PRD…

Two experiments investigated how young children and adults understand whether objects are "by" a landmark and remember their locations. Three- and 4-year-old children and adults were asked to judge whether several blocks were "by" a landmark. The blocks were arranged so that their absolute and relative distances from the landmark varied. Later,…

Recent work has shown that Whorf effects of language on color discrimination are stronger in the right visual field than in the left. Here we show that this phenomenon is not limited to color: The perception of animal figures (cats and dogs) was more strongly affected by linguistic categories for stimuli presented to the right visual field than…

In the course of language development children must solve arbitrary form-to-meaning mappings, in which semantic components are encoded onto linguistic labels. Because sign languages describe motion and location of entities through iconic movements and placement of the hands in space, child signers may find spatial semantics-to-language mapping…

It is hypothesized that the fact whether female and male students were socialized in East or West Germany influences their development of spatial ability differently. In this study 357 students from a West German University (Koblenz) and an East German University (Magdeburg) majoring either in computational visualization (CV) or in non-technical…

Visuospatial working memory and its involvement in arithmetic were examined in two groups of 7- to 11-year-olds: one comprising children described by teachers as displaying symptoms of nonverbal learning difficulties (N = 21), the other a control group without learning disabilities (N = 21). The two groups were matched for verbal abilities, age,…

The Paleo Exploration Project was a professional development program for K-12 teachers from rural eastern Montana. The curriculum was designed to incorporate geospatial technologies, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and total station laser surveying, with authentic field experiences in geology and…

Excessive production of pro-inflammatory mediators by activated brain microglia plays an important role in abnormal neuronal function and cognitive deficits. Studies have shown that the intake of flavonoids is inversely related to cognitive decline and dementia in people 65 years of age or older. Luteolin, a flavonoid found in high concentrations…

The importance of spatial ability in educational pursuits and the world of work was examined, with particular attention devoted to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains. Participants were drawn from a stratified random sample of U.S. high schools (Grades 9-12, N = 400,000) and were tracked for 11+ years; their…

Executive functions, including inhibition, have been implicated in children's reading ability. This study investigates whether children's performance on an inhibition task is more indicative of reading ability than a measure of another executive function, that is, planning. Fifty-three male participants were administered a reading test and tests…

Previous studies have suggested that offenders have lowered verbal intelligence compared to their performance intelligence. This phenomenon has been linked traditionally to childhood risk factors (e.g. deficient education, abuse and neglect). Substantial discrepancies between performance intelligence quotients (PIQ) and verbal intelligence…

The present study investigates the relation between spatial ability and visuo-spatial and verbal working memory in spatial text processing. In two experiments, participants listened to a spatial text (Experiments 1 and 2) and a non-spatial text (Experiment 1), at the same time performing a spatial or a verbal concurrent task, or no secondary task.…

Mathematics concepts are most often taught using auditory, sequential instructional methods. Not only are these methods ineffective when used with visual-spatial learners, they may be detrimental to both academic and emotional progress. Ways in which visual-spatial learners process information are explained. One child's story is presented,…

A current issue in developmental science is that greater continuity in cognition between children and adults may exist than is usually appreciated in Piaget-like (stages or "staircase") models. This phenomenon has been demonstrated at the behavioural level, but never at the brain level. Here we show with functional magnetic resonance imaging…