Prefrontal cortex regulates inhibition and excitation in distributed neural networks.

Prefrontal cortex provides both inhibitory and excitatory input to distributed neural circuits required to support performance in diverse tasks. Neurological patients with prefrontal damage are impaired in their ability to inhibit task-irrelevant information during behavioral tasks requiring performance over a delay. The observed enhancements of primary auditory and somatosensory cortical responses to task-irrelevant distractors suggest that prefrontal damage disrupts inhibitory modulation of inputs to primary sensory cortex, perhaps through abnormalities in a prefrontal-thalamic sensory gating system. Failure to suppress irrelevant sensory information results in increased neural noise, contributing to the deficits in decision making routinely observed in these patients. In addition to a critical role in inhibitory control of sensory flow to primary cortical regions, and tertiary prefrontal cortex also exerts excitatory input to activity in multiple sub-regions of secondary association cortex. Unilateral prefrontal damage results in multi-modal decreases in neural activity in posterior association cortex in the hemisphere ipsilateral to damage. This excitatory modulation is necessary to sustain neural activity during working memory. Thus, prefrontal cortex is able to sculpt behavior through parallel inhibitory and excitatory regulation of neural activity in distributed neural networks.     

右侧基底节损伤遗忘症患者的知觉性启动效应与语义性启动效应的分离与定位

采用偏好、自由联想、字根补笔和字辨认等４项任务观察一例单纯性右侧基底节损伤遗忘症患者和两组正常对照的启动效应。结果发现：（１）该患者知觉性启动效应障碍、而语义性启动效应正常。认为知觉性启动效应的神经学基础可能在基底节。（２）该患者知觉性启动效应与语义性启动效应分离。认为神经组织的损伤可导致不同形式启动效应的分解,提出内隐记忆或启动效应的不同形式可能存在不同的神经学基础。     

Empirical bayes estimates of domain scores under binomial and hypergeometric distributions for test scores

We introduce two simple empirical approximate Bayes estimators (EABEs)— and —for estimating domain scores under binomial and hypergeometric distributions, respectively. Both EABEs (derived from corresponding marginal distributions of observed test scorex without relying on knowledge of prior domain score distributions) have been proven to hold -asymptotic optimality in Robbins' sense of convergence in mean. We found that, where and are the monotonized versions of and under Van Houwelingen's monotonization method, respectively, the convergence rate of the overall expected loss of Bayes risk in either or depends on test length, sample size, and ratio of test length to size of domain items. In terms of conditional Bayes risk, and outperform their maximum likelihood counterparts over the middle range of domain scales. In terms of mean-squared error, we also found that: (a) given a unimodal prior distribution of domain scores, performs better than both and a linear EBE of the beta-binomial model when domain item size is small or when test items reflect a high degree of heterogeneity; (b) performs as well as when prior distribution is bimodal and test items are homogeneous; and (c) the linear EBE is extremely robust when a large pool of homogeneous items plus a unimodal prior distribution exists.The authors are indebted to both anonymous reviewers, especially Reviewer 2, and the Editor for their invaluable comments and suggestions. Thanks are also due to Yuan-Chin Chang and Chin-Fu Hsiao for their help with our simulation and programming work.     

规则变型推理对远迁移问题解决的促进

为了避免多重变异样例学习和采用题海战术,并能促进规则样例学习的远迁移问题解决,开创出原样例学习后对原型规则做出变型推理的学习方法,以算术应用题的解题样例为原样例学习材料进行了4项实验研究。结果显示：四年级小学生运用该方法可有效促进远迁移问题的解决;其变型推理能力存在数学成绩等级差异;提供问题情境和推理提示能提高部分学生规则变型推理成绩和远迁移测验成绩。实验结果证明,规则变型推理是促进远迁移问题解决的有效方法之一。     

Ambiguity Intolerance and Support for Valuing-Diversity Interventions

This study examined the effect of ambiguity intolerance on attitudes toward corporate diversity programs. It was found that, holding constant demographic backgrounds of age, gender, work experience, managerial position, and majority-minority status, ambiguity intolerance was negatively related to support for diversity programs. The study also replicated previous findings that women and racial minority members support diversity programs more than do men and racial majority members. This study demonstrates the importance of including personality variables in diversity research.     

幼儿心理理论发展的一般认知基础--不同心理理论任务表现的特异性与一致性

本研究试图探究中国幼儿心理理论发展的一般变化趋势,通过探查90位3～5岁幼儿在不同心理理论任务表现的特殊性及内在一致性,结果表明：3～5岁间幼儿的心理理论发生急剧变化;幼儿在各任务上的表现总体上存在某种潜在的一致性;但他们在不同任务上的表现存在较大差异,这表明心理理论表现具有显著的任务特异性。     

内源性注意与外源性注意对数字加工的不同影响

分别采用内源性注意和外源性注意实验范式,材料为小数（1－4）和大数（6－9）的中文与阿拉伯数字,任务为判断数字是否大于5,考察在注意与非注意条件下不同大小数字加工的距离效应和符号效应。结果发现：⑴在内源性线索和外源性线索的注意条件下,大小数都出现了距离效应;但在非注意条件下,内源性线索时的大小数都出现了距离效应,而外源性线索时只有小数出现了距离效应,大数的距离效应明显减弱或消失。⑵在内源性线索和外源性线索的注意条件下,大小数都没有出现符号效应;但在非注意条件下,大数没有出现符号效应,而小数出现了符号效应（阿拉伯数字的绩效比中文数字差）,并且内源性线索时的符号效应强度小于外源性线索。     

亲子互动研究及其进展

亲子互动研究是从父母与儿童互动的角度来研究父母与儿童的交往行为,在近几十年来越来越受到国内外研究者的关注。该文从亲子互动影响因素和亲子互动与儿童心理、行为发展的关系两个方面介绍了亲子互动的有关研究,同时又从有缺陷儿童的亲子互动和父亲在亲子互动中的作用介绍了亲子互动研究的进展。     

不同注意条件下的空间－数字反应编码联合效应

考察在无线索、内源性线索与外源性线索时不同符号数字在注意与非注意条件下的空间－数字的反应编码联合效应（Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes,简称SNARC效应）。采用1到9的中文与阿拉伯数字为材料,以判断数字奇偶为任务。实验结果表明：⑴无线索时注意条件下阿拉伯和中文数字都出现了SNARC效应,而非注意条件下则都没有出现,并且受影响的主要是较大的数字（8、9）;⑵外源性线索和内源性线索时,我们得到一个逐渐递减的SNARC效应,受影响的也主要是较大的数字（8、9）。在内源性线索的注意条件阿拉伯和中文数都有SNARC效应,而在非注意条件只有阿拉伯数有SNARC效应;在外源性线索的注意条件只有阿拉伯数有SNARC效应,而在非注意条件阿拉伯和中文都没有SNARC效应,说明外源性注意的影响比内源性注意更大,中文数字所受的影响比阿拉伯数字更大。