If a moving stimulus (i.e., launcher) contacts a stationary target that subsequently begins to move, observers attribute motion of the target to the launcher (Michotte, 1946/1963). In experiments reported here, a stationary launcher adjacent to the target appeared or vanished and displacement in memory for the position of the target was measured.…

Extinction of auditory fear conditioning is thought to form a new memory. We previously found that rats with vmPFC lesions could extinguish fear to the tone within a session, but showed no recall of extinction 24 h later. One interpretation is that the vmPFC is the sole storage site of extinction memory. However, it is also possible that lesioned…

In previous experiments on contextual memory, we proposed that the unreinforced re-exposure to the learning context (conditioned stimulus, CS) acts as a switch guiding the memory course toward reconsolidation or extinction, depending on reminder duration. This proposal implies that the system computes the total exposure time to the context, from…

Current evidence appoints a central role to cholinergic interneurons in modulating striatal function. Recently, a long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission has been reported to occur in these neurons. The relationship between the pattern of cortico/thalamostriatal fibers stimulation, the consequent changes in the intracellular calcium…

Olfactory learning assays in Drosophila have revealed that distinct brain structures known as mushroom bodies (MBs) are critical for the associative learning and memory of olfactory stimuli. However, the precise roles of the different neurons comprising the MBs are still under debate. The confusion surrounding the roles of the different neurons…

The crucial role of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in episodic memory is well established. Although there is little doubt that its anatomical subregions--the hippocampus, peri-, entorhinal and parahippocampal cortex (PHC)--contribute differentially to mnemonic processes, their specific functions in episodic memory are under debate. Data from…

The present study investigated the hypothesis that both nicotinic acetylcholinergic receptors (nAChRs) and glutamate receptors ([alpha]-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate receptors (AMPARs) and N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors (NMDARs)) are involved in fear conditioning, and may modulate similar processes. The effects of the…

The late phase of LTP (L-LTP) is typically induced by repeated high-frequency stimulation. This form of LTP requires activation of transcription and translation and results in the cell-wide distribution of gene products that can be captured by other marked synapses. Here we report that theta frequency stimulation (5 Hz, 30 sec) applied to the…

There are different ways of exploring and examining the visual medium in the service and disservice of education. A discursive form rather than a visual medium is chosen in this attempt. Utilizing the conceptualizations of Suzanne Langer, Christine Nystrom observed that American symbolic environments have undergone a massive shift from discursive…

In a recent study Diamond, Kirkham and Amso (2002) obtained evidence consistent with the claim that the day-night task requires inhibition because the picture and its corresponding conflicting response are semantically related. In their study children responded more accurately in a dog-pig condition (see /day picture/ say "dog"; see /night…

Past research has suggested that children who stutter (CWS) may have less well-developed language skills than fluent children, and that such relative linguistic deficiencies may play a role in precipitating their disfluencies. However, data to support this position are primarily derived from results of standardized diagnostic inventories, which…

This study explored whether the reported inability of newborns to perceive object unity could result from the limited abilities of newborns to recognize the correspondence between 2 stimuli that were identical except for the presence or absence of an occluder. Five experiments were carried out using a visual habituation technique. The results of…

Language acquisition has been a contentious topic among linguists, psycholinguists, and behaviorists for decades. Although numerous theories of language acquisition have surfaced, none have sufficiently accounted for the subtleties of the language that children acquire. The present study attempts to explain the role of modeling and automatic…

Two young boys with autism who used the picture exchange communication system were taught to solve problems (improvise) by using descriptors (functions, colors, and shapes) to request desired items for which specific pictures were unavailable. The results of a multiple baseline across descriptors showed that training increased the number of…

In this article, I discuss the concepts of "private stimuli," "covert responses," and "private events," emphasizing three aspects: the conditions under which private stimuli may acquire discriminative functions to verbal responses, the conditions of unobservability of covert responses, and the complexity of events or phenomena described as…