These experiments examined the release of acetylcholine in the hippocampus and striatum when rats were trained, within single sessions, on place or response versions of food-rewarded mazes. Microdialysis samples of extra-cellular fluid were collected from the hippocampus and striatum at 5-min increments before, during, and after training. These…

Absolute auditory thresholds, frequency resolution and temporal resolution develop with age. It is still discussed whether low-level auditory performance is of clinical significance--specifically, for delayed maturation of central auditory processing. Recently, five new auditory tasks were used to study the development of low-level auditory…

A variety of studies have reported that learners of English as a second language find subject relative clauses easier to produce and comprehend than direct object relatives, but it is unclear whether this preference should be attributed to structural factors or to a linear distance effect. This paper seeks to resolve this issue and to extend our…

Two experiments examined the role of perceptual complexity, object familiarity and form class cues on how children interpret novel adjectives and count nouns. Four-year-old children participated in a forced-choice match-to-target task in which an exemplar was named with a novel word and children were asked to choose another one that matched the…

Objective: The present study investigates whether there is an association between trait impulsivity in the normal population and inhibitory motor control as assessed by the stop task. Method: Low- and high-impulsive participants (as assessed by the I[subscript 7] questionnaire; both groups n = 31) performed the stop task. Differences in…

Seven-year-olds completed a Posner cued attention task, under both neutral and affectively charged conditions. Compared to the traditional (affect-neutral) Posner task, performance in the affective Posner task was marked by dramatic decreases in reaction times (RTs), an increase in errors, an increased validity effect (difference in RTs to the…

This experiment tested whether children's insight into a difficult symbolic relation could be increased by explicitly emphasizing the intentionality surrounding the artifact's creation and use. Specifically, I explicitly emphasized (a) the adult's intent to communicate information via the artifact and (b) the artifact's intentional origins and…

In recent discussions about educational accountability, participants have joined one of two warring camps. In one corner are the advocates of results-driven accountability who claim that test scores are the most accurate measure of the quality of schools, teachers, and school leaders. In the opposite corner are the advocates of input-driven…

The transition from student to expert professional can be accelerated when a trajectory for change is plotted and made visible to learners. Trajectories or paths toward expertise are domain specific and must first be documented and then used within instructional contexts to promote knowledge transitions. This article describes how models of…

Internal working models of attachment (IWMs) are presumed to be largely "unconscious" representations of childhood attachment experiences. Several instruments have been developed to assess IWMs; some of them are based on self-report and others on narrative interview techniques. This study investigated the capacity of a self-report measure, the…

The ACTFL oral proficiency interview (OPI) and the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale provide both a testing method and a set of rating factors for evaluating proficiency. Both are closely related to actual language tasks identified as critical for government employees. Over time, the scale has been expanded to include four skills, a…

The language effects on repair strategies employed by 7 bilingual deaf children (native signers who also used spoken language) was examined. During two sessions--one conducted in sign language and the other in spoken language--each child described a picture. The examiner stopped the child twice to request clarification. The children's responses to…

Effects of a constant time delay procedure on aquatic play skills of children with autism was investigated. A single subject multiple probe model across behaviors with probe conditions was used. Participants were four boys, 7-9 years old. Data were collected over a 10-week period using the single opportunity method as an intervention. Results…

Professors at the "Institucion Universitaria Colombo Americana" (UNICA) have aimed to deliver lessons for second language learners which integrate content and language, resulting in an "integrated lesson" design. The Center for Applied Linguistics (Washington, DC) recommends the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP)…

At least 10% of students in private Christian schools are considered students with special needs. Private Christian schools vary in the degree to which they educate these students and in the approaches that they take toward educating them. This study examines whether or not private Christian Schools are allowing students with special needs access…