Although inhibition has often been proposed as a central mechanism for coordinating activity in the olfactory system, relatively little is known about how activation of different inhibitory local circuit pathways can generate coincident inhibition of principal cells. We used serotonin (5-HT) as a pharmacological tool to induce spiking in ensembles…

The authors argue for a broader view of what it means to be literate to include meaning making with both linguistic and visual representations.

Adolescence is a developmental period of risk, as well as a window of opportunity for cultivating positive development and thriving. It is characterized by simultaneous changes in the brain, body, mind, and social domains that offer a platform for building new skills and habits. This chapter discusses the role that secular forms of mindfulness and…

This study investigates the perceptions of teaching and learning of teachers from Saudi Arabia who participated in a 12-month professional development programme based in Australia. Considering the design of the programme and the vast differences between the education systems and cultures of the two countries, this study examines Saudi teachers'…

Visual attention and active engagement during shared book reading are important for facilitating emergent literacy learning during the preschool years. Children on the autism spectrum often show difficulties in language and literacy development, yet research investigating potential indicators of shared book reading engagement, including visual…

Against the background of the recently published Policy on the South African Standard for Principals, the aim of this article is to determine whether distributed leadership is catered for in the South African regulatory and policy framework. It is argued that due to the accountability demands of a fundamentally bureaucratic education system,…

Research has shown that meaning in life is beneficial to mental and physical health. Furthermore, having a sense of meaning in work has also been found to generate greater well-being and job satisfaction. However, the literature has paid scant attention to exploring the manner in which meaning in life is experienced among professional care…

Purpose: Children with speech sound disorder (SSD) mispronounce more speech sounds than is typical for their age and a growing body of research suggests that a deficit in speech perception abilities contributes to development of the disorder. However, little work has been done to characterize the neurophysiological processes indexing speech…

Numerous studies have reported that spatial ability improves through training. This study investigated the following: (1) whether design training enhances spatial ability and (2) whether differing solution strategies are applied or generated following design training. On the basis of these two research objectives, this study divided the…

The detection of a conflict between relevant and irrelevant information on a given trial typically results in a smaller conflict effect on the next trial. This sequential effect has been interpreted as an expression of cognitive control implemented to resolve conflict. In this context, 2 different but related issues have received increasing…

A number of studies have demonstrated that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are faster or more successful than typically developing control participants at various visual-attentional tasks (for reviews, see Dakin and Frith in "Neuron" 48:497-507, 2005; Simmons et al. in "Vis Res" 49:2705-2739, 2009). This…

Although it is currently accepted that the extinction effect reflects new context-dependent learning, this is not so clear during infancy, because some studies did not find recovery of the extinguished conditioned response (CR) in rodents during this ontogenetic stage. However, recent studies have shown the return of an extinguished CR in infant…

The severe amblyopia induced by chronic monocular deprivation is highly resistant to reversal in adulthood. Here we use a rodent model to show that recovery from deprivation amblyopia can be achieved in adults by a two-step sequence, involving enhancement of synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex by dark exposure followed immediately by visual…

Young children are slow to master conventional intonation patterns in their "yes/no" questions, which may stem from imperfect understanding of the links between terminal pitch contours and pragmatic intentions. In Experiment 1, five to ten-year-old children and adults were required to judge utterances as questions or statements on the…

Nowadays, we are living in a world where information is readily available and being able to provide the learner with the best suited situations and environment for his/her learning experiences is of utmost importance. In most learning environments, information is basically available in the form of written text. According to the eye-tracking…