In two experiments we investigated the automatic adjusting of the attentional focus to simple geometric shapes. The participants performed a visual search task with four stimuli (the target and three distractors) presented always around the fixation point, inside an outlined frame not related to the search task. A cue informed the subject only…

The present studies explored the role of the medial striatum in learning when task contingencies change. Experiment 1 examined whether the medial striatum is involved in place reversal learning. Testing occurred in a modified cross-maze across two consecutive sessions. Injections of the local anesthetic, bupivacaine, into the medial striatum, did…

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been implicated in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling and memory formation. Here, we questioned whether training-induced modulation of PSA-NCAM expression might be related to individual differences in spatial learning abilities. At 12 h posttraining, immunohistochemical analyses…

The present experiments examined the effects of injecting glucose into the dorsal hippocampus or dorsolateral striatum on learning rates and on strategy selection in rats trained on a T-maze that can be solved by using either a hippocampus-sensitive place or striatum-sensitive response strategy. Percentage strategy selection on a probe trial…

Concepts of containment, support, and degree of fit were investigated using nonverbal, preferential-looking tasks with 9- to 14-month-old infants and adults who were fluent in either English or Korean. Two contrasts were tested: tight containment vs. loose support (grammaticized as "in" and "on" in English by spatial prepositions and "kkita" and…

The present study examined if spatial knowledge gained from a virtual environment is affected by the spatial ability of the participant, and whether information can be more efficiently acquired and applied to a physical space when participants are given a display featuring both overhead and first-person visual cues. Three spatial training displays…

This phenomenological study examined kindergarten children's development of spatial representation in a year long mapping project. Findings and discussion relative to how children conceptualised and represented physical space are presented in light of theoretical notions advanced by Piaget, van Hiele, and cognitive science researchers Battista and…

This article describes and discusses, some of the 100 structural differences between the male and female brain identified by some researchers. Teachers need to be aware of these differences, and how they manifest themselves in male and female students. If teachers are not familiar with these differences, and how they affect learning styles,…

In 2 experiments, the authors tested whether the classical modality effect--that is, the stronger recency effect for auditory items relative to visual items--can be extended to the spatial domain. An order reconstruction task was undertaken with four types of material: visual-spatial, auditory-spatial, visual-verbal, and auditory-verbal.…

Individual differences in cortical anatomy are readily observable, but their functional significance for behaviors such as reading is not well understood. Here, we report a case of an apparent compensated dyslexic who had attained high achievement in visuospatial mathematics. Data from a detailed background interview, psychometric testing, divided…

There is considerable interest in the potential non-musical cognitive and academic benefits of music listening and instruction to children. This report describes three lines of research relevant to this issue, namely, the effects of: (1) focused music listening on subsequent task performance (the Mozart effect); (2) music instruction; and (3)…

Background: Though the Down syndrome behavioural phenotype has been described as involving relative strengths in visuo-spatial processing and sociability, and relative weaknesses in verbal skills and motor planning, the early emergence of this phenotypic pattern of strengths and weaknesses has not yet been fully explored. Method: In this study, we…

This study investigates the effectiveness of computer-mediated Engineering Drawing instruction in improving spatial ability namely spatial visualisation and mental rotation. A multi factorial quasi experimental design study was employed involving a cohort of 138, 20 year old average undergraduates. Three interventional treatments were…

This article reviews research on the spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity effects. Research on these instructional design effects has focussed on the instructional benefits for novices of reducing split attention between spatially or temporally disparate but related elements of information. Meta-analytic techniques were applied to 50…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of DISCOVER, a performance-based assessment, in identifying gifted students in Lebanon. DISCOVER is grounded in Gardner's MI theory and consists of tasks involving problem-solving and creative abilities. The sample consisted of 49 middle-class 5-th graders, with a mean age of 10.2…