Examines language as a multimodal sensory enhancement system, integrating recent neuroanatomical and neurophysiological findings on the ontogenesis of neuronal structures with the generative concept of Universal Grammar for determination of fundamental differences between primary and secondary language acquisition. (Author/CB)

This paper compares the human brain-mind system to the structure and systems of large organizations and bureaucracies. It argues that effective organizations mirror the systems seen in healthy brains, while ineffective organizations resemble damaged brains and chronically pursue short-term goals through inflexible routines instead of looking for…

Reviews research on the neuroscientific perspective to second-language acquisition and teaching, focusing on the "critical period" of language acquisition, brain hemispheric mapping, universal grammar theory, the modal directionality principle, and the modal focusing principle. (contains 74 references) (MDM)

Describes a study that investigated the effects of images on vocabulary retention among college students who read lists of unfamiliar words and definitions. One group read sentences using unknown vocabulary words. Another group read the same sentences with drawings depicting major points. Images significantly improved student performance,…

Forty children with dyslexia were treated with visual hemisphere-specific stimulation based on their subtype of dyslexia. Children with L-type dyslexia (hurried, inaccurate reading) who received treatment with anxiety-laden words made fewer substantive errors and more fragmentations on a text-reading task, compared to children who received…

A study of adult students entering postsecondary institutions (n=187) found that their brain dominance was significantly related to their learning styles. The positive relationship and lack of a pattern among students indicates that they have different learning styles and individual instructional needs. (JOW)

Twenty-eight L-dyslexic and 26 P-dyslexic children (mean age of 9-10) received hemisphere-specific stimulation (HSS) by presentation of words to right and left fingers, respectively. Relative to controls, HSS-treated L-dyslexic subjects showed larger improvement of accuracy in text reading, whereas HSS-treated P-dyslexic subjects showed more…

Confirms the existence of a right-hemisphere advantage in the process of discriminating between face stimuli. The advantage was weaker in females than in males. No hemispheric transfer of learning was observed. Subjects were 18 infants of 42 weeks who were presented with an operant conditioning situation in which they discriminated between their…

Discusses the determinants of international migration by college students and scholars from developing nations and the responses of various governments to the "brain drain." Examines how the Chinese government is using mass media to encourage Chinese students and scholars abroad to "complete their studies and return home." (SV)

A study of 12 patients with left-hemisphere damage (LHD) and aphasia, 10 with right-hemisphere damage (RHD), and 10 controls, sought to identify phonemic and emphatic stress contrasts. Individuals with LHD were unable to identify phonemic stress contrasts with better-than-chance accuracy. Individuals with RHD performed better than those with LHD.…

Compared the mismatch-negativity (MMN) component of auditory event-related brain potentials to explore the relationship between phonological short-term memory and auditory-sensory processing in 7- to 9-year olds scoring the highest and lowest on a pseudoword repetition test. Found that high and low repeaters differed in MMN amplitude to speech…

Suggests that doctors may one day be able to identify healthy people who will develop Alzheimer's disease. Discusses recent studies in which characteristics of a person's writing early in life appear to predict the disease, and brain scans can highlight changes that may precede dementia. (CCM)

This study investigates the relationships between undergraduate hypermedia users' information processing styles and navigational patterns. Discusses use of the Human Information Processing Survey, learning styles and information processing styles, and brain hemisphericity. Results show a significant relationship between information processing…

Focuses on the structure/function relationship of the brain and language. Reviews the basic theories concerning cortical structures and language representation. Presents a call that highlights the need to examine the areas of listening, memory, and information retrieval for a more sophisticated analysis of the complex relationship between cortical…

Whereas prior conceptions treated cognitive development as a sequence of stages, current research points to recurring growth cycles between birth and age 30. Each recurrence produces a new capacity for thinking and learning grounded in an expanded, reorganized neural network. Cognitive spurts are evident only under optimal support conditions.…