We have previously reported that sound sequence discrimination learning requires cholinergic inputs to the auditory cortex (AC) in rats. In that study, reward was used for motivating discrimination behavior in rats. Therefore, dopaminergic inputs mediating reward signals may have an important role in the learning. We tested the possibility in the…

Reviews of the dyslexia literature often seem to suggest that children with dyslexia perform at a lower level on almost any task. Richards et al. (Dyslexia 2002; 8: 1-8) note the importance of being able to demonstrate dissociations between tasks. However, increasingly elegant experiments, in which dissociations are found, almost inevitably find…

This study demonstrates that listeners use lexical knowledge in perceptual learning of speech sounds. Dutch listeners first made lexical decisions on Dutch words and nonwords. The final fricative of 20 critical words had been replaced by an ambiguous sound, between [f] and [s]. One group of listeners heard ambiguous [f]-final words (e.g.,…

Dyslexia is a persistent problem in written language, consisting of a severe difficulty in word recognition. It is characterized by low reading performance, while other skills are not impaired, being normal or even superior in some cases. This paper reviews different proposals for defining and clarifying causes of dyslexia. Additionally, we…

A review of the history of working memory (WM) studies finds that the concept of WM evolved from short-term memory to a multi-component system. Comparison between contemporary WM models reveals: (1) consensus that the content of WM includes not only task-relevant information, but also task-irrelevant information; (2) consensus that WM consists of…

A Cantonese syllable-spotting experiment was conducted to examine whether the Possible-Word Constraint (PWC), proposed by Norris, McQueen, Cutler, and Butterfield (1997), can apply in Cantonese speech segmentation. In the experiment, listeners were asked to spot out the target Cantonese syllable from a series of nonsense sound strings. Results…

A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evaluate the efficacy of embedded instruction with 3 students with developmental disabilities who were enrolled in general education classes. Two general education teachers and 1 paraprofessional delivered embedded instruction to students during regularly scheduled instructional activities.…

Meaningful visual experience requires computations that identify objects as the same persisting individuals over time, motion, occlusion, and featural change. This article explores these computations in the tunnel effect: When an object moves behind an occluder, and then an object later emerges following a consistent trajectory, observers…

Memory for scene changes that were identified immediately (passive encoding) or following systematic and effortful search (generative encoding) was compared across groups differing in age and intelligence. In the context of flicker methodology, generative search for the changing object involved selection and rejection of multiple potential…

Purpose: Speech perception in participants with auditory neuropathy (AN) was systematically studied to answer the following 2 questions: Does noise present a particular problem for people with AN: Can clear speech and cochlear implants alleviate this problem? Method: The researchers evaluated the advantage in intelligibility of clear speech over…

Using the Luck and Vogel change detection paradigm, we sought to investigate the capacity of visual working memory in 5-, 7-, and 10-year-olds. We found that performance on the task improved significantly with age and also obtained evidence that the capacity of visual working memory approximately doubles between 5 and 10 years of age, where it…

The ability to discriminate the spectral shapes of complex sounds is critical to accurate speech perception. Part of the difficulty experienced by listeners with hearing loss in understanding speech sounds in noise may be related to a smearing of the internal representation of the spectral peaks and valleys because of the loss of sensitivity and…

A decade ago, S. Aglioti, J. F. X. DeSouza, and M. A. Goodale (1995) published an experiment that has had a big influence on the way that visual information is thought to control human behavior. Their findings have often been simplified as suggesting that action is immune to perceptual illusions. The current authors critically analyze the 4 steps…

This paper takes a cognitive perspective in an attempt to analyze mental mechanisms involved in contextual learning. In the following, it is suggested that contextualized environments evoke mental mechanisms that support reasoning about "what if", imaginary situations--utilizing a powerful mental mechanism known from the history of physics as…

The phenomenon called "aging out" includes approximately 20,000 young people who enter adulthood directly from foster care each year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). The number of youth and young adults who aged out of care in the U.S. in 2005, the year for which the most current statistics are available, increased 48 percent…