Old dogs learning new tricks: Neuroplasticity beyond the juvenile period

Twenty years ago, the prevalent view in Psychology was that although learning and the formation of new memories are lifelong occurrences, the neural changes associated with these events were all in the existing receptors. No new neural hardware, from synapses to neurons, was thought to appear after a protracted period early in life. In the past 20 years, another view has supplanted this one, showing that although the juvenile period is especially suited to neuroplastic adaptation, there is hard neuroplastic change later in life as well. We review a selection of evidence for this view from both animal and human models, showing how it reflects three principles of neuroplasticity: (1) earlier and later experience-induced changes to neuroarchitecture differ in degree more so than in type; (2) the types of experiences that lead to neuroplastic change narrow with age; and (3) differences in the amenability of neural circuitry to change result from basic differences in neuroarchitecture and neuroenvironment in different phases of development.     

Sensory Discrimination,Working Memory and Intelligence in 9‐Year‐Old and 11‐Year‐Old Children

More than a century ago, Galton and Spearman suggested that there was a functional relationship between sensory discrimination ability and intelligence. Studies have since been able to confirm a close relationship between general discrimination ability (GDA) and IQ. The aim of the present study was to assess whether this strong relationship between GDA and IQ could be due to working memory (WM) demands of GDA tasks. A sample of 140 children (seventy 9‐year‐olds and seventy 11‐year‐olds) was studied. Results showed that there was a significant overlap between WM, GDA and fluid intelligence. Furthermore, results also revealed that WM could not explain the relationship between GDA and fluid intelligence as such, but that it acted as a bottleneck of information processing, limiting the influence of GDA on the prediction of fluid intelligence. Specifically, GDA's influence on the prediction of intelligence was only visible when WM capacity was above a certain level. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Embodiment Perspective on Number–Space Mapping in 3.5‐Year‐Old Dutch Children

Previous research suggests that block adding, subtracting and counting direction are early forms of number–space mapping. In this study, an embodiment perspective on these skills was taken. Embodiment theory assumes that cognition emerges through sensory–motor interaction with the environment. In line with this assumption, it was investigated if counting and adding/subtracting direction in young children is related to the hand they use during task performance. Forty‐eight 3.5‐year‐old children completed a block adding, subtracting and counting task. They had to add and remove a block from a row of three blocks and count a row of five blocks. Adding, subtracting and counting direction were related to the hand the children used for task performance. Most children who used their right hand added, removed and started counting the blocks at the right side of the row. Most children who used their left hand added, removed and started counting the blocks at the left side of the row. It can be concluded that number–space mapping, as measured by direction of adding, subtracting and counting blocks, in young children is embodied: It is not fixed, but is related to the situation. © 2016 The Authors Infant and Child Development Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Facets of country image and brand equity: Revisiting the role of product categories in country‐of‐origin effect research

The country‐of‐origin effect is a topic central to the field of international marketing. Country of origin has been found to exert a particularly potent effect on consumer evaluation in situations where there is a strong link between a country and a particular product category. The present study provides further insight into how this particular effect can be understood. Drawing on a novel conceptualization of how country image and product categories interact, this study tested the relative evaluative relevance of product category with respect to estimates of brand equity across a variety of product categories. The findings suggest that facets of a country's image that are more closely related to the evaluation situation exert a greater influence on the evaluation of brands. This result encourages scholars as well as practitioners to re‐evaluate which situations might cause the country of origin effect to hold managerial relevance and paves the way for new paths toward a more comprehensive understanding of the effect. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Socio‐economic,socio‐political and socio‐emotional variables explaining school bullying: a country‐wide multilevel analysis

Why do some countries, regions and schools have more bullying than others? What socio‐economic, socio‐political and other larger contextual factors predict school bullying? These open questions inspired this study with 53.316 5th‐ and 9th‐grade students (5% of the national student population in these grades), from 1,000 schools in Colombia. Students completed a national test of citizenship competencies, which included questions about bullying and about families, neighborhoods and their own socio‐emotional competencies. We combined these data with community violence and socio‐economic conditions of all Colombian municipalities, which allowed us to conduct multilevel analyses to identify municipality‐ and school‐level variables predicting school bullying. Most variance was found at the school level. Higher levels of school bullying were related to more males in the schools, lower levels of empathy, more authoritarian and violent families, higher levels of community violence, better socio‐economic conditions, hostile attributional biases and more beliefs supporting aggression. These results might reflect student, classroom and school contributions because student‐level variables were aggregated at the school level. Although in small portions, violence from the decades‐old‐armed conflict among guerrillas, paramilitaries and governmental forces predicted school bullying at the municipal level for 5th graders. For 9th graders, inequality in land ownership predicted school bullying. Neither poverty, nor population density or homicide rates contributed to explaining bullying. These results may help us advance toward understanding how the larger context relates to school bullying, and what socio‐emotional competencies may help us prevent the negative effects of a violent and unequal environment. Aggr. Behav. 35:520–529, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Drug Ingestions in Children 10–14 Years Old: An Old Problem Revisited

To determine changes in rates of drug ingestions in 10–14 year old children in our country, a retrospective chart review of 10–14 year olds hospitalized for drug ingestion between 1993–1995 and 2000–2004 was performed. Odds ratios and Chi‐square were used for analyses. From 1993–1995 there were 92.8 ingestions/100,000 children/year; from 2000–2004 there were 63.3 ingestions/100,000 children/year. More males ingested in 2000–2004 than 1993–1995 (26.3% vs. 14.2% O.R. 2.15 [1.19, 3.92]). More patients took psychiatric medications in 2000–2004 than 1993–1995 (38.9% vs. 27.0%, O.R. 1.72 [1.06, 2.80]). More patients ingested SSRIs in 2000–2004 than 1993–1995; fewer ingested tricyclics. Hospitalization rates for drug ingestions have decreased. There has been a change in drug ingested, and more males are ingesting drugs.