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PubMed1959

Serial errors in human learning: a test of the McCrary-Hunter hypothesis.

An experiment was conducted on 120 human subjects to test the hypothesis that the probability distribution of serial errors is an invariant property of rote memorization. Contrary to the hypothesis, the relative difficulty function was significantly affected by ability to learn. There was a systematic tendency (p < .05) for fast learners to commit proportionately more errors in the middle of the sequence.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

New approaches to the study of comparative cognition.

The rat's memory capacity and performance render it an excellent model of human memory. Rats display serial position, serial anticipation learning, temporal coding, and repetition lag functions as well as utilization of retrospective and prospective codes that are nearly equivalent to that observed for humans. Furthermore, based on the above-mentioned memory performance functions, there are comparable memory-deficit patterns between brain-damaged rats and humans. Thus, the rat can serve as an excellent animal model to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological treatments or brain damage upon memory.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Implicit learning is intact in adult developmental dyslexic readers: evidence from the serial reaction time task and artificial grammar learning.

Previous research yielded equivocal results concerning implicit learning abilities of developmental dyslexic readers. These studies employed a sequence learning task that requires a motor response to each stimulus. However, implicit learning has been often studied using non-motor tasks. Thus, we investigated implicit learning capabilities of adult developmental dyslexic readers in two standard implicit learning paradigms differing in the involvement of the motor system, namely the serial response time task (SRTT) and artificial grammar learning (AGL).Twelve adult developmental dyslexic and twelve age- and sex- matched normal readers were tested. In the serial response time task (SRTT), participants are exposed to a structured display. Learning is measured by comparing response time (RT) to the structured sequence with RT to a random display. In the artificial grammar learning task (AGL), letter strings following a markovian finite state grammar are presented. In a subsequent test phase subjects have to judge new letter strings according to their grammaticality. Learning of the stimulus regularities was found in both tasks and for both groups of subjects. Furthermore, participants were unaware of the underlying stimulus construction principles. Dyslexic readers were unimpaired in SRTT as well as artificial grammar learning relative to normal readers. These findings show that implicit learning is intact in dyslexia. Intact implicit learning capabilities should be taken into account when designing training programs for developmental dyslexic readers.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Behavioural rigidity and rule-learning deficits following isolation-rearing in the rat: neurochemical correlates.

Isolation-reared rats were compared to those reared in social groups on the acquisition of a conditional visual discrimination (Expt. I), a simultaneous (simple) light/dark discrimination and serial reversal learning (Expt. II). In Expt. I, rats reared in social isolation made more errors during the acquisition of the conditional discrimination but did reach a level of accurate performance which was comparable with that of socially-reared rats. Discrimination performance in isolates was less disruptable by manipulations of the task requirements. Reducing the number of stimulus lights or the introduction of a distracting stimulus increased the number of errors committed by socially-reared rats but did not significantly affect accuracy in isolates. Performance in isolated rats was also remarkably resistant to changes in motivational variables. Isolates responded more frequently during conditions of extinction and were virtually unaffected by pre-feeding prior to testing. In Expt. II, isolation-reared rats were not impaired in the acquisition of a simultaneous discrimination but unlike socially-reared rats isolates failed to show improvement with successive reversals of this discrimination. Isolates exhibited stronger position habits than socially-reared rats following reversal of the contingencies. These results of these two experiments combined have demonstrated a specific impairment in rule learning in isolates. Isolated rats were not impaired on a simultaneous discrimination in which accurate performance can be achieved simply by approaching the stimulus associated with reinforcement, but performed worse than controls on both the conditional discrimination and on serial reversal learning, another form of conditional task. In both of these latter tasks each stimulus becomes equally associated with reward and therefore performance can be improved by learning a rule. Post-mortem neurochemical measurements made at the completion of Expt. II revealed selective alterations in dopaminergic, serotoninergic and cholinergic markers in isolated rats. Correlational analyses indicated specific relationships between neurochemical and behavioural measurements.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Encoding specificity and intrusion in Alzheimer's disease and amnesia.

This study was designed to examine how the pattern of memory deficits and the interaction between episodic and semantic encoding/retrieval conditions influenced intrusions in a population of Alzheimer and amnesic patients. We used as a model for an encoding/retrieval experiment a 2 x 2 experimental design in which two encoding conditions are crossed with two retrieval conditions. It was found that encoding specificity affected intrusions only if patients, regardless of their clinical diagnosis, were grouped according to the type of memory impairment.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

High-priority event instructions affect implicit and explicit memory tests.

Previous work has shown that instructing subjects to give special priority to one target event in a list enhances recall for that event, but impairs recall for the events immediately preceding it (Tulving, 1969). We examined the benefit of high-priority instructions, and the retrograde amnesia for previous items, in three experiments that included two explicit tests of memory (free recall and cued recall with word-stem cues) and an implicit test (word-stem completion). Experiments 1 and 2 revealed a beneficial effect of high-priority instructions on memory for the target events in both free recall and primed word-stem completion. Retrograde amnesia for previous events was either absent (Experiment 1) or modest (Experiment 2) in free recall; however, no evidence for amnesia occurred on the implicit test. In Experiment 3, we asked if the benefit of high-priority instructions on the implicit test was due to contamination from intentional recollection, by employing the logic of the retrieval-intentionality criterion via a levels-of-processing manipulation. The results showed a beneficial effect of high-priority instructions on free recall, word-stem cued recall, and word-stem completion. Level of processing affected the two explicit tests, but not the implicit test, indicating that it induced incidental retrieval. We conclude that the benefit of high-priority instructions occurred on all three tests used in these experiments. In contrast, the phenomenon of retrograde amnesia occurred in free recall, but not in primed word-stem completion.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Anomia for people's names.

The case of an anomia for people's names is reported. The study of this dissociation helps to clarify the difference in processing between proper and common names. Associated deficits in this and previously described cases provide support for the idea that an inability to retrieve arbitrary relations is the basis of the naming difficulty. This would confirm the role of proper names as purely referring expressions.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Differential effects of the stimulus sequence on CNV and P300.

During the presentation of stimulus sequences in oddball paradigms, participants tend to implicitly evaluate the conditional probability of target occurrence. It is not sure, however, if subjective estimation of conditional probabilities modulates target expectancy and target processing in the same manner. In the present experiment, the amplitudes of CNV and P300 were studied separately to compare preparatory and decision mechanisms and their sensitivity to variations in target probability. Amplitudes of both components were measured at different positions in the stimulus sequence, which modulates target probability as a function of distance from the preceding target. Results showed shorter RTs with increased probability of target occurrence (that is, with longer distance to the previous target). CNV amplitude was low when target probability was zero and maximal when the occurrence of a target was possible, regardless of its probability. Conversely, a gradual increase with augmenting probability was observed for P300 amplitude. Thus, preparatory activity as reflected by the CNV showed an all or nothing response to variations in probability, whereas action closure mechanisms, indexed by P300 components, were found to be more sensitive to subtle differences in stimulus expectancy.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Can amnesic patients learn without awareness? New evidence comparing deterministic and probabilistic sequence learning.

Can associative learning take place without awareness? We explore this issue in a sequence learning paradigm with amnesic and control participants, who were simply asked to react to one of four possible stimuli on each trial. Unknown to them, successive stimuli occurred in a sequence. We manipulated the extent to which stimuli followed the sequence in a deterministic manner (noiseless condition) or only probabilistically so (noisy condition). Through this paradigm, we aimed at addressing two central issues: first, we asked whether sequence learning takes place in either condition with amnesic patients. Second, we asked whether this learning takes place without awareness. To answer this second question, participants were asked to perform a subsequent sequence generation task under inclusion and exclusion conditions, as well as a recognition task. Reaction times results show that amnesic patients learned the sequence only in the deterministic condition. However, they failed to be able to reproduce the sequence in the generation task. In contrast, we found learning for both sequence structures in control participants, but only control participants exposed to a deterministic sequence were successful in performing the generation task, thus suggesting that the acquired knowledge can be used consciously in this condition. Neither amnesic nor control participants showed correct old/new judgments in the recognition task. The results strengthen the claim that implicit learning is at least partly spared in amnesia, and the role of contextual information available for learning is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Lesioning of spatial memory in mice treated with agroclavin.

This report presents results obtained from studies of the mnemotropic activity of the ergot alkaloid agroclavin. The effects of this substance were studied at concentrations of 1, 10, 25, 50, and 200 microg/kg on the learning and retention of a spatial habit in a Morris water maze. These doses of agroclavin had no effect on the process of formation of the spatial habit, but sharply disturbed retention of the habit. A long-lasting effect of memory trace disturbance was seen over a period of 48 h after dosage. On retraining, animals showed no delayed effects with agroclavin on learning a new spatial habit. The possible mechanisms for the effect of agroclavin on memory are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Memorability as a measure of processing: a unit analysis of prose and list learning.

The percentage of subjects recalling each unit in a list or prose passage is considered as a dependent measure. When the same units are recalled in different tasks, processing is assumed to be the same; when different units are recalled, processing is assumed to be different. Two collections of memory tasks are presented, one for lists and one for prose. The relations found in these two collections are supported by an extensive reanalysis of the existing prose memory literature. The same set of words were learned by 13 different groups of subjects under 13 different conditions. Included were intentional free-recall tasks, incidental free recall following lexical decision, and incidental free recall following ratings of orthographic distinctiveness and emotionality. Although the nine free-recall tasks varied widely with regard to the amount of recall, the relative probability of recall for the words was very similar among the tasks. Imagery encoding and recognition produced relative probabilities of recall that were different from each other and from the free-recall tasks. Similar results were obtained with a prose passage. A story was learned by 13 different groups of subjects under 13 different conditions. Eight free-recall tasks, which varied with respect to incidental or intentional learning, retention interval, and the age of the subjects, produced similar relative probabilities of recall, whereas recognition and prompted recall produced relative probabilities of recall that were different from each other and from the free-recall tasks. A review of the prose literature was undertaken to test the generality of these results. Analysis of variance is the most common statistical procedure in this literature. If the relative probability of recall of units varied across conditions, a units by condition interaction would be expected. For the 12 studies that manipulated retention interval, an average of 21% of the variance was accounted for by the main effect of retention interval, 17% by the main effect of units, and only 2% by the retention interval by units interaction. Similarly, for the 12 studies that varied the age of the subjects, 6% of the variance was accounted for by the main effect of age, 32% by the main effect of units, and only 1% by the interaction of age by units.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗