Norepinephrine receptors have been studied in emotion, memory, and attention. However, the role of alpha1-adrenergic receptors in fear conditioning, a major model of emotional learning, is poorly understood. We examined the effect of terazosin, an alpha1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, on cued fear conditioning. Systemic or intra-lateral amygdala…

Although the relationship between stress intensity and memory function is generally believed to follow an inverted-U-shaped curve, strikingly this phenomenon has not been demonstrated under the same experimental conditions. We investigated this phenomenon for rats' performance in a hippocampus-dependent learning task, the radial arm water maze…

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a simple scale for measuring positive interpersonal attitudes of depressed stroke patients, with regard to their cognitive limitations. Two versions of the Attitudes Towards Relationships Scale were developed and administered to depressed stroke (n = 48) and control rheumatic/orthopaedic (n = 45)…

The possible causes of learning difficulties in children with epilepsy are long and complex. In order to see that a child is given an adequate evaluation, an understanding of what these many causes are and how those causes may be interrelated is necessary. This article discusses the first three of the six categories of the causes: (1) Organic; (2)…

Objective: Functional neuroimaging studies have led to a significantly deeper understanding of the underlying neural correlates and the development of several mature models of depression in adults. In contrast, our current understanding of the underlying neural substrates of adolescent depression is very limited. Although numerous studies have…

Semantically reversible sentences are prone to misinterpretation and take longer for typically developing children and adults to comprehend; they are also particularly problematic for those with language difficulties such as aphasia or Specific Language Impairment. In our study, we used fMRI to compare the processing of semantically reversible and…

Children learn a whole raft of skills in the first seven or eight years of life by closely imitating their parents and teachers. But for children to grow up as clones at a time of rapid cultural and economic environmental change would be nothing short of disastrous. We now know that children need the struggle of adolescence to put away those…

There are two views about morphology, the aspect of language concerned with the internal structure of words. One view holds that morphology is a domain of knowledge with a specific type of neurocognitive representation supported by specific brain mechanisms lateralized to left fronto-temporal cortex. The alternate view characterizes morphological…

Plaut and McClelland (2010) and Quian Quiroga and Kreiman both challenged my characterization of localist and distributed representations. They also challenged the biological plausibility of grandmother cells on conceptual and empirical grounds. This reply addresses these issues in turn. The premise of my argument is that grandmother cells in…

Executive function and working memory deficits are not only present in ADHD, but also in reading disorder (RD). Here, high-density ERPs were recorded during the Stop Signal Task in 53 children and adolescents: An ADHD-combined type group, a group with RD, and a healthy control group. The ADHD-C group displayed unique abnormalities of the frontal…

The brain activity associated with automatic semantic priming has been extensively studied. Thus far there has been no prior study that directly contrasts the neural mechanisms of semantic and affective priming. The present study employed event-related fMRI to examine the common and distinct neural bases underlying conceptual and affective priming…

Studies of spoken and signed language processing reliably show involvement of the posterior superior temporal cortex. This region is also reliably activated by observation of meaningless oral and manual actions. In this study we directly compared the extent to which activation in posterior superior temporal cortex is modulated by linguistic…

It is still a matter of debate whether constructive apraxia (CA) should be considered a form of apraxia or, rather, the motor expression of a more pervasive impairment in visuo-spatial processing. Constructive disorders were linked to visuo-spatial disorders and to deficits in appreciating spatial relations among component sub-parts or problems in…

The left mid-fusiform gyrus is repeatedly reported to be involved in visual word processing. Nevertheless, it is controversial whether this area responds to orthographic processing of reading. To examine this idea, neural activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging in the present study while subjects performed phonological,…

Previous dual-task research pairing complex visual tasks involving non-spatial cognitive processes during dichotic listening have shown effects on the late component (Ndl) of the negative difference selective attention waveform but no effects on the early (Nde) response suggesting that the Ndl, but not the Nde, is affected by non-spatial…