Language Acquisition is Language Change

According to the theory of Universal Grammar, the primary linguistic data guides children through an innately specified space of hypotheses. On this view, similarities between child-English and adult-German are as unsurprising as similarities between cousins who have never met. By contrast, experience-based approaches to language acquisition contend that child language matches the input, with nonadult forms being simply less articulated versions of the forms produced by adults. This paper reports several studies that provide support for the theory of Universal grammar, and resist explanation on experience-based accounts. Two studies investigate English-speaking children’s productions, and a third examines the interpretation of sentences by Japanese speaking children. When considered against the input children are exposed to, the findings of these and other studies are consistent with the continuity hypothesis, which supposes that child language can differ from the language spoken by adults only in ways that adult languages can differ from each other.     

The role of religion in heart-transplant recipients' long-term health and well-being

While religion has long been recognized clinically to provide important coping strategies in the face of serious health problems, there has been little systematic consideration of its role in organ transplant recipients' long-term reactions and adjustment to this experience. This study examines these issues through qualitative and quantitative evaluation of longitudinal data collected from 40 adult heart recipients followed during their first year post-transplant. Large proportions of recipients expressed strong beliefs and were able to increase religious participation over the 12-month study period. They delineated specific ways in which their faith had provided them support, as well as ways in which the transplant experience itself further strengthened their beliefs. We found empirical evidence that recipients with strong beliefs who participated in religious activities had better physical and emotional well-being, fewer health worries, and better medical compliance by the final 12-month assessment. The findings suggest the development of specific nursing, social-service, or pastoral-involvement strategies, continuing staff education about the role of religion in patient care. The implications of such interventions for maximizing quality of life in transplant recipients are discussed.This study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

COGNITIVE PROFILES OF READING-DISABLED CHILDREN:

Abstract— A comprehensive cognitive appraisal of elementary school children with learning disabilities showed that within the language sphere, deficits associated with reading disability are selective. Phonological deficits consistently accompany reading problems whether they occur in relatively pure form or in the presence of coexisting attention deficit or arithmetic disability. Although reading-disabled children were also deficient in production of morphologically related forms, this difficulty stemmed in large part from the same weakness in the phonological component that underlies reading disability. In contrast, tests of syntactic knowledge did not distinguish reading-disabled children from those with other cognitive disabilities, nor from normal children after covarying for intelligence.     

Once a princess,always a princess: A strategy for therapy with families of rape victims

Reconstitutive interventions for victims of rape involve more than discussion of cognitive and emotional responses to the traumatic events of the rape and the post-traumatic anxiety and depression. Many victims and families of victims are not able to reconstruct a supportive functional system after they have been violated by rape. This paper presents a strategic ritual which can be used with the raped family to facilitate this reorganization and restitution of their integrity.Through the use of a short metaphorical story and symbolic ritual, each individual member and the family as a whole can experience, reexperience, and redecide how they will respond to this traumatic event through open expression of their emotions and responses. Reintegration of their responses and shared life crisis enable them to respond to one another in ways not open to them previously.     

Reduced activation of left orbitofrontal cortex precedes blocked vocalization: A magnetoencephalographic study

While stuttering is known to be characterized by anomalous brain activations during speech, very little data is available describing brain activations during stuttering. To our knowledge there are no reports describing brain activations that precede blocking. In this case report we present magnetoencephalographic data from a person who stutters who had significant instances of blocking whilst performing a vowel production task. This unique data set has allowed us to compare the brain activations leading up to a block with those leading up to successful production. Surprisingly, the results are very consistent with data comparing fluent production in stutterers to controls. We show here that preceding a block there is significantly less activation of the left orbitofrontal and inferiorfrontal cortices. Furthermore, there is significant extra activation in the right orbitofrontal and inferiorfrontal cortices, and the sensorimotor and auditory areas bilaterally. This data adds weight to the argument forwarded by Kell et al. (2009) that the best functional sign of optimal repair in stutterering is activation of the left BA 47/12 in the orbitofrontal cortex.Educational objectives: At the end of this activity the reader will be able to (a) identify brain regions associated with blocked vocalization, (b) discuss the functions of the orbitofrontal and inferior frontal cortices in regard to speech production and (c) describe the usefulness and limitations of magnetoencephalography (MEG) in stuttering research.     

Position-item associations play a role in the acquisition of order knowledge in an implicit serial reaction time task

Knowledge of sequential regularities plays a key role in forms of explicit and implicit memory, such as working memory and motor skills. Despite important advances in the study of sequence knowledge in the past century, the theoretical development of implicit and explicit memory has occurred separately. Unlike the literature on implicit sequence learning, the explicit learning literature differentiates between 2 forms of representation of serial structure, chaining (C is the item following B in the sequence A-B-C-D) and ordinal position knowledge (C is the 3rd item). In 3 experiments, we demonstrate that these 2 forms of sequence knowledge can be acquired in implicit sequence learning. In Experiment 1, 2 trained sequences were recombined at transfer such that the strength of (a) associations between serial positions and sequence elements as well as (b) associations between successive sequence elements could be estimated. In Experiment 2, we compared sequence elements placed at the trained versus untrained serial position. Experiment 3 reduced cues that can be used to determine the start of a sequence within the stream of trials. Our results suggest that the discussion held in explicit memory research about different forms of representation of sequences knowledge also is relevant for implicit sequence learning.     

Why Bioethics Cannot Figure Out What to Do with Race

Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social and political control, have been wrought in the name of religion against Blacks and people of color as embodied in the Ten Commandments, the Inquisition, and in the history of the Holy Crusades. Missionaries came armed with Judeo/Christian beliefs went to nations of people of color who had their own belief systems and forced change and caused untold harms because the indigenous belief systems were incompatible with their own. The indigenous people were denounced as ungodly, pagan, uncivilized, and savage. Hence, laws were enacted because of their perceived need to structure a sense of morality and to create and build a culture for these indigenous people of color. To date bioethics continues to be informed by a Western worldview that is Judeo/Christian in belief and orientation. However, missing from bioethical discourse in America is the historical influence of the Black Church as a cultural repository, which continues to influence the culture of Africans and Blacks. Cultural aspects of peoples of color are still largely ignored today. In attempting to deal with issues of race while steering clear of the religious and cultural impact of the Black Church, bioethics finds itself in the middle of a distressing situation: it simply cannot figure out what to do with race.     

Clinical Strategies for Integrating Medication Interventions Into Behavioral Treatment for Adolescent ADHD: The Medication Integration Protocol

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is prevalent among adolescents enrolled in behavioral health services but remains undertreated, and the first-line treatment option, stimulant medication, is underutilized. To address this gap, this article introduces the Medication Integration Protocol (MIP): ADHD Assessment and Medication Consult; ADHD Psychoeducation and Client Acceptance; ADHD Symptoms and Family Relations; ADHD Medication and Family Decision-Making; and Medication Management and Integration Planning. The article concludes by highlighting what behavior therapists should know about integrating medication interventions into primary care; managing medication priorities for adolescents with multiple diagnoses, including substance use problems; and the compatibility of MIP with everyday practice conditions.     

Using the Theory of Gender and Power to Examine Experiences of Partner Violence,Sexual Negotiation,and Risk of HIV/AIDS Among Economically Disadvantaged Women in Southern India

This article uses the Theory of Gender and Power to examine women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in order to: understand the vulnerability of female sex workers/poor women due to poverty and lack of educational resources; explore women's vulnerability in the context of client/partner violence, alcohol use, male partner's high-risk behaviors, and women's lack of control in their intimate relationships; and explore the role of traditional heterosexual gender norms in the outcomes of sexual negotiation. Ethnographic data were collected from 32 women and 38 men in India as part of an ongoing National Institute of Mental Health study. Results highlighted women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS stemming from partner violence, alcohol use, poverty, dangers of sex work environments, and tacit acceptance of cultural/gender norms.