Intermanual somesthetic transfer in split-brain Rhesus monkeys.
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Animals↗
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Poor cognitive development and abdominal pain: Wilson's disease.
An 8-year-old boy was referred to our hospital because of learning disabilities. His general cognitive functions were below the level for age, and he was diagnosed with dysphasia. The boy was transferred to a special class for children with learning problems. Three months later he was again referred to us because of acute epigastric pain. The only abnormal laboratory finding was a slightly elevated level of alanine aminotransferase. Although the symptoms disappeared in a few days, the transaminase levels remained above normal for the next 6 months. Further diagnostic work-up revealed low serum ceruloplasmin concentration and high 24-h urinary copper excretion. The hepatic copper concentration in liver biopsy was high (2900 microg/g dry weight), confirming the diagnosis of Wilson's disease. Brain MRI showed slight changes in white matter. The patient's asymptomatic sister was also diagnosed with Wilson's disease. Both siblings started penicillamine therapy and a copper-restricted diet. The copper content of the household water was found to be above average and a new plumbing system was installed. After 1 year from the initiation of the therapy, the transaminase concentrations normalized and both siblings were free of symptoms. After 2 years of therapy the patient was able to return to normal school. Wilson's disease must be borne in mind, when children are evaluated because of poor school performance, especially if they complain of abdominal symptoms.
Abdominal Pain↗
Lateralized fascia dentata lesion and blockade of one hippocampus: effect on spatial memory in rats.
Unilateral blockade of the dorsal hippocampus by tetrodotoxin makes it possible to form lateralized spatial memories, which rapidly transfer to the naive hippocampus when training continues with intact brain. Unilateral X-ray irradiation of newborn rats causes irreversible destruction of granule cells in the ipsilateral fascia dentata (FD). Possible compensation of poor learning in the lesioned hemisphere by commissural transfer of memories from the intact hippocampus was examined in seven rats with unilateral FD lesion, which were first trained in the Morris water maze to asymptotic performance (mean escape latency 6+/-1 s). Subsequent testing during functional ablation either of the intact or of the lesioned hippocampus by tetrodotoxin revealed escape latencies 35+/-8 s or 8+/-1 s, respectively. Probe trial tests during inactivation of the intact and lesioned hippocampus showed target quadrant preference of 32+/-2% or 54+/-3%, respectively. The results indicate: (a) that one intact hippocampus alone can support the water maze task, (b) that no, or only a very weak, memory trace is available in the lesioned hippocampus. It is concluded that the above results are due to the inability of the FD lesioned hippocampus to process the information received from the ipsilateral entorhinal cortex.
Animals↗
Neuronal premotor networks involved in eyelid responses: retrograde transneuronal tracing with rabies virus from the orbicularis oculi muscle in the rat.
Retrograde transneuronal tracing with rabies virus from the right orbicularis oculi muscle was used to identify neural networks underlying spontaneous, reflex, and learned blinks. The kinetics of viral transfer was studied at sequential 12 hr intervals between 3 and 5 d after inoculation. Rabies virus immunolabeling was combined with the immunohistochemical detection of choline acetyltransferase expression in brainstem motoneurons or Fluoro-Ruby injections in the rubrospinal tract. Virus uptake involved exclusively orbicularis oculi motoneurons in the dorsolateral division of the facial nucleus. At 3-3.5 d, transneuronal transfer involved premotor interneurons of trigeminal, auditory, and vestibular reflex pathways (in medullary and pontine reticular formation, trigeminal nuclei, periolivary and ventral cochlear nuclei, and medial vestibular nuclei), motor pathways (dorsolateral quadrant of contralateral red nucleus and pararubral area), deep cerebellar nuclei (lateral portion of interpositus nucleus and dorsolateral hump ipsilaterally), limbic relays (parabrachial and Kölliker-Fuse nuclei), and oculomotor structures involved in eye-eyelid coordination (oculomotor nucleus, supraoculomotor area, and interstitial nucleus of Cajal). At 4 d, higher order neurons were revealed in trigeminal, auditory, vestibular, and deep cerebellar nuclei (medial, interpositus, and lateral), oculomotor and visual-related structures (Darkschewitsch, nucleus of the posterior commissure, deep layers of superior colliculus, and pretectal area), lateral hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex (particularly in parietal areas). At 4.5 and 5 d the labeling of higher order neurons occurred in hypothalamus, cerebral cortex, and blink-related areas of cerebellar cortex. These results provide a comprehensive picture of the premotor networks mediating reflex, voluntary, and limbic-related eyelid responses and highlight potential sites of motor learning in eyelid classical conditioning.
Animals↗
Tactile stimulation and interhemispheric communication by learning disabled children: an exploratory study.
33 right-handed, learning disabled children aged 8-10 yr., 11-13 yr., and 14-16 yr. were presented a tactile discrimination task. Pairs of fabrics of different or the same texture were presented to the same hand (uncrossed condition) or alternating hands (crossed condition). Analysis indicated that the total number of crossed errors was significantly greater for the youngest children. There were no significant differences between the groups for the uncrossed condition. These results suggest that younger learning disabled children may experience greater difficulty on a task which required interhemispheric transfer.
Adolescent↗
Human aggression.
Research on human aggression has progressed to a point at which a unifying framework is needed. Major domain-limited theories of aggression include cognitive neoassociation, social learning, social interaction, script, and excitation transfer theories. Using the general aggression model (GAM), this review posits cognition, affect, and arousal to mediate the effects of situational and personological variables on aggression. The review also organizes recent theories of the development and persistence of aggressive personality. Personality is conceptualized as a set of stable knowledge structures that individuals use to interpret events in their social world and to guide their behavior. In addition to organizing what is already known about human aggression, this review, using the GAM framework, also serves the heuristic function of suggesting what research is needed to fill in theoretical gaps and can be used to create and test interventions for reducing aggression.
Affect↗
Transfer of matching performance in pigeons.
Three pigeons were given extensive training on three-key simultaneous matching problems using geometric-form and hue stimuli. After acquisition of matching, the birds were tested with pairs of stimuli involving one or both novel members. Matching during the test stimuli occurred less often than during the later stages of the acquisition phase, but more often than would occur if no transfer had taken place. Greater positive transfer was observed for problems that involved one, rather than two, novel stimuli. In the second phase of the experiment, previously trained birds were shifted to problems that required symbolic matching, i.e., the pigeons had to associate a particular center-key stimulus with a particular side-key stimulus. On each trial, one of two simuli was presented on the center key, and two other stimuli, different from those used on the center key, were displayed on the side keys. When the problem shift was introduced, correct responding was impaired, but remained considerably above chance level and quickly recovered in following sessions. The results were interpreted as favoring a stimulus-response-chaining account of matching behavior.
Animals↗
Concentration and mnemonic training in elderly subjects with memory complaints: a study of combined therapy and order effects.
In a study of a cognitive retraining program for the elderly, subjects received a combination of two types of training designed to reduce the memory impairment associated with normal aging. Concentration training (CT) consisted of techniques to improve selective and sustained attention. Mnemonic training (MT) involved an associative imagery technique designed to enhance the organization and retrieval of information. Order effects were examined using two groups of subjects. One group received CT followed by MT whereas the other group received MT before CT. It was hypothesized that the CT-MT sequence would improve immediate and delayed serial recall more than the reverse sequence. This hypothesis was supported and transfer effects were found on a paired-associates learning task. The findings suggest a need for further research on potential interactions and sequencing effects among different forms of cognitive training.
Aged↗
Forgetting our facts: the role of inhibitory processes in the loss of propositional knowledge.
Seven experiments are reported that show that retrieving facts from long-term memory is accomplished, in part, by inhibitory processes that suppress interfering facts. When asked to repeatedly retrieve a recently learned proposition (e.g., recalling The actor is looking at the tulip, given cues such as Actor looking t__), subjects experienced a recall deficit for related facts (e.g., The actor is looking at the violin) on a recall test administered 15 min later. Importantly, this retrieval-induced forgetting was shown to generalize to other facts in which the inhibited concepts took part (e.g., The teacher is lifting the violin), replicating a finding observed by M. C. Anderson and B. A. Spellman (1995) with categorical stimuli. These findings suggest a critical role for suppression in models of propositional retrieval and implicate the mere retrieval of what we know as a source of forgetting of factual knowledge.
Adult↗
The effects of verbal and visual highlighting of dimensions on discrimination learning by preschoolers and second graders.
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Child↗
Technical evolution of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy after 450 cases.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In 1998, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy with primary access to the seminal vesicles was introduced. In 1999, we developed a laparoscopic technique similar to the classic retropubic radical prostatectomy. We focus here on the continuous technical evolution of our technique. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From March 1999 to May 2002, we performed 450 laparoscopic radical prostatectomies. All important data of the patients; data concerning the performance of the procedure, including technical modifications, conversion, reintervention, and complication rate; as well as follow-up information were documented contemporaneously. The patients were divided into three groups of 150 individuals each in order to analyze the influence of the technical evolution of the procedure. Additionally, we studied the transferability of our technique, comparing the learning curves of the three surgeons involved in the program. RESULTS: The technical modifications included the routine use of a voice-controlled robot (AESOP) for the camera, exposure of the apex with 120 degrees retracting forceps, a free-hand suturing technique instead of the Endostitch device for the dorsal vein complex, 5-mm clipping instead of bipolar coagulation for the nerve-sparing technique, initial 6 o'clock suturing of the urethra before complete division, control of the prostatic pedicles by use of 12-mm Hemo-lok clips instead of the Ultracision or Endo-GIA, the bladder neck-sparing technique in cases of T(1c) and T(2a) tumors, and interrupted instead of continuous sutures for the vesicourethral anastomosis. All these modifications resulted in a significant decrease in operating time and the rates of transfusion, open conversion, and reintervention. The introduction of the nerve-sparing technique increased the number of tumor-positive margins. The mean operating time of the third surgeon was significantly less than that of the first surgeon, but the transfusion, conversion, and reintervention rates did not differ significantly among the surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy has undergone continuous technical evolution resulting in a significant improvement of the operative results. Although we were able to demonstrate the transferability of this difficult procedure, we feel that it should be performed only at centers of expertise.
Adult↗
Input coding in animal and human associative learning.
Two appetitive conditioning experiments with rats investigated whether the degree of generalization between a compound and its component parts is fixed or variable. Both experiments used a two-stage transfer design. In Stage 1, the elemental groups learned that a compound and its component parts signaled the same outcome (i.e. C+, D+, CD+), whereas the configural groups learned that a compound and its component parts signaled different outcomes (i.e. C+, D+, CD-, where '+' is pellets and '-' is no pellets). In Stage 2, the rats were tested for reductions in generalization. Experiment 1 found no evidence that past configural learning reduced generalization when a new set of alike-treated A and B elements were presented in compound for the first time. Experiment 2 found no evidence that past configural learning reduced generalization when the stimuli of Stage 1 were presented in a new C-, D-, CD+ relation. In contrast to findings with humans, these results suggest that past experience plays a minor role in how stimuli are encoded in animal conditioning.
Journal Article↗
Perceptual classes established with forced-choice primary generalization tests and transfer of function.
In Experiment 1, 20 college students learned two identity conditional discriminations using squares that differed in interior-fill percentage (called Fill23 and Fill77). A two-choice generalization test was then presented with number of test trials varied across groups of subjects. The test samples were 19 squares that ranged in fill value from 23% to 77%; the comparisons were squares with Fill23 and Fill77. The resulting gradients did not vary as a function of number of test trials. When the generalization test was repeated with a third comparison, "neither," the ranges of fill values that occasioned the exclusive selection of Fill23 or Fill77 were direct functions of the number of prior two-choice generalization trials. Finally, a disriminability test revealed that Fill23 and Fill77 were disciminable from the intermediate fill values. In Experiment 2, perceptual classes were established with 5 new students using 760 forced-choice generalization test trials. The student were then trained to select a different glyph in the presence of Fill23 and Fill77, followed by a three-choice generalization test in which the 19 fill stimuli served as samples and the two glyphs served as comparisons. The gradients ovelapped with those previously obtained during the three-choice generalization test that used Fill23 and Fill77 as comparisons. Finally, a discriminability test showed that many adjacent stimuli along thc fill dimension were discriminable from each other. Together, the results of both experiments suggest that ranges of fill-based stimuli functioned as members of perceptual classes, and each class also functioned as a transfer network for a new selection-based response.
Adult↗
RESEARCH WITH THE DEAF: IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE AND COGNITION.
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Cognition↗
Evaluation of learning and memory mechanisms employing elevated plus-maze in rats and mice.
1. The effect of drugs affecting learning and memory was investigated using transfer latency (TL) as parameter for acquisition and retention of memory process on elevated plus-maze both in rats and mice. Further the validity of the procedure was envisaged. 2. The results provide an evidence for utility of shortened TL on 2nd day trial in old rats and mice as a parameter for retention or consolidation of memory, while treatment of drugs 30 min prior to 1st day may also be utilised for acquisition related action of drugs. 3. The drugs producing acquisition deficits namely scopolamine (0.1-0.5 mg/kg) and MK 801 (0.05-0.1 mg/kg) did not affect the shortened TL on elevated plus-maze in rats while nootropics, like piracetam (150 mg/kg) and captopril (30 mg/kg) reduced the shortened TL. The memory enhancing effect of these agent was reversed by scopolamine (0.3 mg/kg) and MK 801 (0.1 mg/kg) both in rats and mice. The results suggested the acquisition affecting drugs, however, did not show any effect on retention parameter (shortened TL) but can reverse the retention facilitatory action of nootropics. The results also provide indirect evidence for participation of cholinergic and NMDA-receptor blockade in the mechanism of these drugs. 4. Scopolamine and MK 801 produced acquisition deficits in mice, as they increased the TL on 1st and 2nd day trial while physostigmine (0.05 mg/kg) decreased the 2nd day TL. Physostigmine (0.1 mg/kg) reversed scopolamine and MK 801 induced acquisition deficits suggested participation of cholinergic and NMDA- receptor in learning process. 5. The results validate the utility of the elevated plus-maze for evaluation of possible nootropic action of drugs.
Aging↗
What is learned in sequential learning? An associative model of reward magnitude serial-pattern learning.
A computational model of sequence learning is described that is based on pairwise associations and generalization. Simulations by the model predicted that rats should learn a long monotonic pattern of food quantities better than a nonmonotonic pattern, as predicted by rule-learning theory, and that they should learn a short nonmonotonic pattern with highly discriminable elements better than 1 with less discriminable elements, as predicted by interitem association theory. In 2 other studies, the model also simulated behavioral "rule generalization," "extrapolation," and associative transfer data motivated by both rule-learning and associative perspectives. Although these simulations do not rule out the possibility that rats can use rule induction to learn serial patterns, they show that a simple associative model can account for the classical behavioral studies implicating rule learning in reward magnitude serial-pattern learning.
Animals↗
Effectiveness of the MASTER program for teaching special children multiplication and division.
In this study, the utility of a MAthematics Strategy Training for Educational Remediation (MASTER) program, (Van Luit, Kaskens, & Van der Krol, 1993) was examined. The effectiveness of the program, designed to encourage strategy utilization with multiplication and division problems, was investigated for 84 students with poor mathematics skills, some of whom had learning disabilities (n = 42) and others with mild levels of mental retardation (n = 42). The results showed that the use of the self-instruction program resulted in significant improvement over the general instruction program. Furthermore, far transfer was found for the children with learning disabilities in the experimental group when they used effective problem-solving strategies on nontrained tasks. The results are consistent with previous findings suggesting the importance of self-instruction in mathematics training programs.
Adolescent↗
Letter matching within and between the disconnected hemispheres.
Three patients with complete cerebral commissurotomy from the California series were given two letter-matching tasks, one requiring physical identity and the other requiring nominal identity. The pairs of letters were presented unilaterally to each disconnected hemisphere or bilaterally, with each hemisphere receiving one of the letters to be compared. The disconnected hemispheres of all three patients showed good performance in the unilateral conditions, even when visual field and response hand were crossed. The crossed visual field-hand conditions resulted in both slower and less accurate responses. Only N.G. was able to cross-compare letters in the bilateral condition and only for physical identity. The results qualify previous reports that higher-level information can transfer subcallosally while visual information cannot.
Cerebral Cortex↗