Signaling pathways necessary for memory formation, such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, appear highly conserved across species and paradigms. Learning that food is inedible (LFI) represents a robust form of associative, operant learning that induces short- (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) in "Aplysia." We investigated the…

Analyzing evolutionary relationships requires that students have a thorough understanding of evidence and of how scientists use evidence to develop these relationships. In this lesson sequence, students work in groups to process many different lines of evidence of evolutionary relationships between ungulates, then construct a scientific argument…

Scholars interested in play in humans should take note of the growing literature on play in other species, especially in light of the application of evolutionary approaches to virtually all areas of psychology. Although most research on animal play deals with mammals--particularly rodents, carnivores, and primates--studies have recorded play of…

Four pigeons were trained on two-key concurrent variable-interval schedules with no changeover delay. In Phase 1, relative reinforcers on the two alternatives were varied over five conditions from 0.1 to 0.9. In Phases 2 and 3, we instituted a molar feedback function between relative choice in an interreinforcer interval and the probability of…

The present experiment examined the effects of acute and daily cocaine on spontaneous behavior patterns of pigeons. After determining the acute effects of a range of doses, 9 pigeons were divided into three groups that received one of three doses of cocaine daily, either 1.0, 3.0, or 10.0 mg/kg cocaine. Measures were taken of spontaneous…

Here, we examined the effect of a daytime nap on changes in virtual maze performance across a single day. Participants either took a short nap or remained awake following training on a virtual maze task. Post-training sleep provided a clear performance benefit at later retest, but only for those participants with prior experience navigating in a…

In this study, three lines of evidence suggest a role for [alpha][subscript 2]-adrenoreceptors in rat pup odor-preference learning: olfactory bulb infusions of the [alpha][subscript 2]-antagonist, yohimbine, prevents learning; the [alpha][subscript 2]-agonist, clonidine, paired with odor, induces learning; and subthreshold clonidine paired with…

Research into bystander apathy has focused on the barriers to intervening when the perpetrators and witnesses of violence are strangers. Although violence also occurs in the presence of friends, family, and other close ties, it is unclear how these affiliations constrain the behavior of bystanders in these situations. To explore this question,…

The substantial increase in the enrollment of women in batterer intervention programs (BIPs) over the past 30 years has greatly outpaced research on women who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV). As a result, it is unknown whether existing programs, which were originally designed to treat male perpetrators, are effective at preventing…

Can children's handedness influence how they represent abstract concepts like "kindness" and "intelligence"? Here we show that from an early age, right-handers associate rightward space more strongly with positive ideas and leftward space with negative ideas, but the opposite is true for left-handers. In one experiment, children indicated where on…

In this article, the authors describe St Peter's Primary School's and Honiton Primary School's experiences of keeping chickens. The authors also describe the benefits they bring and the reactions of the children. (Contains 5 figures.)

A measure of "clusterability" serves as the basis of a new methodology designed to preserve cluster structure in a reduced dimensional space. Similar to principal component analysis, which finds the direction of maximal variance in multivariate space, principal cluster axes find the direction of maximum clusterability in multivariate space.…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with sensory hypersensitivity. A recent study reported visual acuity (VA) in ASD in the region reported for birds of prey. The validity of the results was subsequently doubted. This study examined VA in 34 individuals with ASD, 16 with schizophrenia (SCH), and 26 typically developing (TYP).…

In this paper we describe a special form of future thinking, termed "episodic foresight" and its relation with episodic and semantic memory. We outline the methodologies that have largely been developed in the last five years to assess this capacity in young children and non-human animals. Drawing on Tulving's definition of episodic and semantic…

The modulation of synaptic strength associated with learning is post-synaptically regulated by changes in density and shape of dendritic spines. The transcription factor CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) is required for memory formation and in vitro dendritic spine rearrangements, but its role in learning-induced remodeling of neurons…