Although the Morris water task has been used in hundreds of studies of place learning, there have been no systematic studies of retention of the place memory. We report that retention, as measured by selective search behavior on a probe trial, is excellent when the retention interval is short (5-10 min). However, performance rapidly deteriorates,…

It is well established that the cerebellum and its associated circuitry are essential for classical conditioning of the eyeblink response and other discrete motor responses (e.g., limb flexion, head turn, etc.) learned with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). However, brain mechanisms underlying extinction of these responses are still…

In this paper, we demonstrate nondeclarative sequence learning in mice using an animal analog of the human serial reaction time task (SRT) that uses a within-group comparison of behavior in response to a repeating sequence versus a random sequence. Ten female B6CBA mice performed eleven 96-trial sessions containing 24 repetitions of a 4-trial…

The terrestrial slug "Limax" has a highly developed ability to associate the odor of some foods (e.g., carrot juice) with aversive stimuli such as the bitter taste of quinidine solution. The procerebrum (PC) is a part of the slug's brain thought to be involved in odor-aversion learning, but direct evidence is still lacking. Here, the authors…

The persistence of new memory traces in the hippocampus, encoded following appropriate activation of glutamatergic receptors and the induction of synaptic plasticity, can be influenced by heterosynaptic activation of neuromodulatory brain systems. We therefore investigated the effects of a hippocampus-specific blockade of dopamine D1/D5 receptors…

Courtship conditioning is an associative learning paradigm in "Drosophila melanogaster," wherein male courtship behavior is modified by experience with unreceptive, previously mated females. While the training experience with mated females involves multiple sensory and behavioral interactions, the authors hypothesized that female cuticular…

We introduce the thematic collection by noting some striking similarities in the cognitive abilities of human infants and nonhuman primates. What are the implications of these similarities for our comprehension of human infant cognition? After providing a brief historical and conceptual background on comparative behavioral research, we discuss how…

This study describes the bullying behaviors reported by 198 students in grade 8 in two middle schools in the same southern city. Of the students, 92% reported observing some type of bullying at their school at least "sometimes." Nearly one half of the students did not tell anyone when they were bullied. Those who did report bullying were most…

This article contends that the modern descendant of B. F. Skinner's experimental analysis of behavior, "behavior analysis," and as well his 1957 masterwork "Verbal Behavior," have rarely if ever been seriously contemplated by applied linguists for possible contributions to the field. Rather, a pat literature of dismissal has developed that…

Social stories were developed in order to support individuals with autism to better cope with social situations, an area of particular difficulty for this population. Despite its growing popularity, there is limited research evidence on the effectiveness of this approach. A review of research on social stories undertaken between 1994 and 2004 was…

Many children with autism display reactions to auditory stimuli that seem as if the stimuli were painful or otherwise extremely aversive. This article describes, within the contexts of three experimental designs, how procedures of systematic desensitization can be used to treat hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli in three young children with…

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the socionormative approach of internality in the field of education, and more specifically regarding scholastic judgment. It describes the theoretical development and the main procedures used by researchers to show that internal causal explanations have more value than external ones because they…

This study examined the influence of diagnostic criteria and diagnostic labels for psychopathy or conduct disorder on judicial decisions. A national sample of judges (N = 326) rendered hypothetical dispositions based on 1 of 12 mock psychological evaluations. The evaluations varied the presence of 2 sets of diagnostic criteria (antisocial…

This study focuses on specific interaction behaviors rather than looking at overall levels of interaction. These behaviors can be seen as important starting points or integral components of interactive dialogue. If students perceive barriers to asking and answering questions, interaction may be seriously curtailed. The purpose of this study is to…

The relationship between cognitive development and problem-solving skills is discussed. One approach for improving students' problem-solving skills rests in the application of cognitive development theories to instruction. Instructional strategies that facilitate cognitive development can be categorized into two groups: instruction that challenges…