A comparative developmental framework was used to determine whether mutual gaze is unique to humans and, if not, whether common mechanisms support the development of mutual gaze in chimpanzees and humans. Mother-infant chimpanzees engaged in approximately 17 instances of mutual gaze per hour. Mutual gaze occurred in positive, nonagonistic…

Operant and classical conditioning are major processes shaping behavioral responses in all animals. Although the understanding of the mechanisms of classical conditioning has expanded significantly, the understanding of the mechanisms of operant conditioning is more limited. Recent developments in "Aplysia" are helping to narrow the gap in the…

Experiment 1 examined the effects of electrical stimulation of nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) on a relational odor-association task--the social transmission of food preference (STFP). Rats were stimulated unilaterally in the NBM for 20 min (100 [mu]A, 1 Hz) immediately before the social training. They were tested on their ability to…

Pontine neuronal activation during auditory stimuli increases ontogenetically between postnatal days (P) P17 and P24 in rats. Pontine neurons are an essential component of the conditioned stimulus (CS) pathway for eyeblink conditioning, providing mossy fiber input to the cerebellum. Here we examined whether the developmental limitation in pontine…

The neural pathways that convey conditioned stimulus (CS) information to the cerebellum during eyeblink conditioning have not been fully delineated. It is well established that pontine mossy fiber inputs to the cerebellum convey CS-related stimulation for different sensory modalities (e.g., auditory, visual, tactile). Less is known about the…

Del Giacco Art Therapy is a cognitive art therapy process that focuses on stimulating the mental sensory systems and working to stabilize the nervous system and create new neural connections in the brain. This system was created by Maureen Del Giacco, Phd. after recovering from her own traumatic brain injury and is based on extensive research of…

This booklet presents suggestions for parents to promote their visually impaired infant's motor development. It is pointed out that babies with serious visual loss often prefer their world to be constant and familiar and may resist change (including change in position); therefore, it is important that a wide range of movement activities be…

The two studies reported here explore recent findings indicating that few relationships exist between environmental stimulation and cognitive development during the first 6 months of life. In the first study, three separate home visits (two 90 minutes and one 30 minutes long) were used to assess the physical and social environments of 100…

The report discusses achievements of a preschool project offering infant stimulation, occupational therapy, and consultative and referral services to handicapped children and their families. Attainment of objectives in the areas of staff development, parent training, child services, and demonstration/dissemination is discussed; and tables list…

Intended for all parents, presented is the Developmentally Delayed Infant Education Project's (Ohio) manual on parent involvement. Topics covered include reasons for parent involvement (skills learned by parents in the program can improve children's academic attainment); definition of parent involvement (parents working with staff to provide…

A booklet intended for parents and other individuals in contact with the blind or visually impaired infant provides suggestions for aiding in the child's growth and development. Presented from the viewpoint of the visually impaired child, the author emphasizes sharpening of the intact senses through such activities as talking to, carrying, and…

Using a modified time-sampling procedure, 20 primiparous and 20 multiparous mothers were observed while breast-feeding their 48-hour old infants. In comparison with multiparous mothers, primiparous mothers (1) spend more time in non-feeding activities, (2) spend more time feeding male infants, (3) change activity more frequently, (4) provide more…

The study assessed task performance of 25 hyperactive and 22 normal children (six to ten years old) with and without within-task color, holding task complexity constant. (Author)

Fifty preterm children who had experienced a range of biological hazards were divided into two competence groups on the basis of their receptive language development at 24 months. Arthur Retlaw and Associates, Inc., Suite 2080, 1603 Orrington Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60201. (Author)