Effects of ontogeny on performance of rats in a novel object-recognition task

The current experiment investigated ontogenetic forgetting on a novel object-recognition task similar to that of Besheer and Bevins. 18-day-old pups (n = 49) and adult (n = 29) rats were tested at two retention intervals (1 min. or 120 min.). By employing exclusion criteria which demanded minimum amounts of object exploration at training and test, the performance of 18-day-old pups but not that of adults was significantly impaired at 120 min. relative to 1 min. Analysis indicated that the ontogeny of the learning and memory measured in novel object recognition follows a developmental trend similar to that of other forms of learning, with older animals remembering more and thus performing better than younger animals. Unfortunately, given the extreme variability inherent to the task and large N necessary to achieve significance, the use of this task in studies of learning, memory, and development is discouraged.     

Comparing learning environments in U.S. military officer education: a brief replication

A 2003 comparative study on learning environments at two military officer training sites was replicated using different methodology. Satisfaction with learning environment and with administrative inprocessing was higher at Fort Leavenworth than at Fort Dix. Most students expressed a preference for Fort Leavenworth. Satisfaction with institutional support and educational facilities appears to influence perceived satisfaction with a learning environment and with preference for training sites among senior military officers.     

The architecture of personality

This article presents a theoretical framework for analyzing psychological systems that contribute to the variability, consistency, and cross-situational coherence of personality functioning. In the proposed knowledge-and-appraisal personality architecture (KAPA), personality structures and processes are delineated by combining 2 principles: distinctions (a) between knowledge structures and appraisal processes and (b) among intentional cognitions with varying directions of fit, with the latter distinction differentiating among beliefs, evaluative standards, and aims. Basic principles of knowledge activation and use illuminate relations between knowledge and appraisal, yielding a synthetic account of personality structures and processes. Novel empirical data illustrate the heuristic value of the knowledge/appraisal distinction by showing how self-referent and situational knowledge combine to foster cross-situational coherence in appraisals of self-efficacy.     

Detection of counter-changing contrast: second-order apparent motion without postrectification motion-energy analysis or salience mapping/feature tracking

The perception of 2nd-order, texture-contrast-defined motion was studied for apparent-motion stimuli composed of a pair of spatially displaced, simultaneously visible checkerboards. It was found that background-relative, counter-changing contrast provided the informational basis for the perception of 2nd-order apparent motion; motion began where contrast changed toward the contrast value of the background checkerboard and ended where contrast changed away from the background value. The perceived apparent motion was not attributable to either postrectification motion-energy analysis or salience-mapping/feature-tracking mechanisms. Parallel results for 1st-order, luminance-defined motion (H. S. Hock, L. A. Gilroy, & G. Harnett, 2002) suggest that counter-changing activation provides a common basis for the perception of both luminance- and texture-contrast-defined apparent motion.     

Transfer of spatial behavior between different environments: implications for theories of spatial learning and for the role of the hippocampus in spatial learning

In 3 experiments, rats were required to find a submerged platform located in 1 corner of an arena that had 2 long and 2 short sides; they were then trained to find the platform in a new arena that also had 2 long and 2 short sides but a different overall shape. The platform in the new arena was easier to find if it was in a corner that was geometrically equivalent, rather than the mirror image, of the corner where it had previously been located. The final experiment revealed that hippocampal lesions impaired rats' ability to find the platform in these arenas. The results suggest that rats did not use the overall shape of the arena to locate the platform but relied on more local cues and that the hippocampus plays a role in navigation based on these cues.     

The generality of working memory capacity: a latent-variable approach to verbal and visuospatial memory span and reasoning

A latent-variable study examined whether verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) capacity measures reflect a primarily domain-general construct by testing 236 participants in 3 span tests each of verbal WM. visuospatial WM, verbal short-term memory (STM), and visuospatial STM. as well as in tests of verbal and spatial reasoning and general fluid intelligence (Gf). Confirmatory' factor analyses and structural equation models indicated that the WM tasks largely reflected a domain-general factor, whereas STM tasks, based on the same stimuli as the WM tasks, were much more domain specific. The WM construct was a strong predictor of Gf and a weaker predictor of domain-specific reasoning, and the reverse was true for the STM construct. The findings support a domain-general view of WM capacity, in which executive-attention processes drive the broad predictive utility of WM span measures, and domain-specific storage and rehearsal processes relate more strongly to domain-specific aspects of complex cognition.     

Alternative forms of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test: a review

Practice effects in memory testing complicate the interpretation of score changes over repeated testings, particularly in clinical applications. Consequently, several alternative forms of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) have been developed. Studies of these typically indicate that the forms examined are equivalent. However, the implication that the forms in the literature are interchangeable must be tempered by several caveats. Few studies of equivalence have been undertaken; most are restricted to the comparison of single pairs of forms, and the pairings vary across studies. These limitations are exacerbated by the minimal overlapping across studies in variables reported, or in the analyses of equivalence undertaken. The data generated by these studies are nonetheless valuable, as significant practice effects result from serial use of the same form. The available data on alternative AVLT forms are summarized, and recommendations regarding form development and the determination of form equivalence are offered.     

Decision-making impairments in patients with Parkinson's disease

A high percentage of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients show cognitive impairments in addition to the cardinal motor symptoms. These deficits primarily concern executive functions most probably linked to dysfunctions in prefrontal regions due to decreased dopaminergic transmission in fronto-striatal loops. To investigate possible associations between decision-making and executive functions in PD, we examined 20 non-demented PD patients and 20 healthy control subjects with a neuropsychological test battery and the Game of Dice Task. In this computerised decision-making task, the rules for gains and losses and the winning probabilities are obvious and stable. Thus, strategic components besides feedback processing might influence decision-making in this task. We found that PD patients were impaired in the Game of Dice task performance and that the frequency of disadvantageous choices correlated with both executive functions and feedback processing. We suggest that decision-making deficits of PD patients in explicit gambling situations might be associated with dysfunctions in two different fronto-striatal loops: the limbic-orbitofrontal-striatal loop, involved in feedback processing, and the dorsolateral prefrontal-striatal loop, involved in executive functions.     

Seeing a voice: Rudolph Koenig's instruments for studying vowel sounds

The human voice was one of the more elusive acoustical phenomena to study in the 19th century and therefore a crucial test of Hermann von Helmholtz's new theory of sound. This article describes the origins of instruments used to study vowel sounds: synthesizers for production, resonators for detection, and manometric flames for visual display. Instrument maker Rudolph Koenig played a leading role in transforming Helmholtz's ideas into apparatus. In particular, he was the first to make the human voice visible for research and teaching. Koenig's work reveals the rich context of science, craft traditions, experiment, demonstration culture, and commerce in his Paris workshop.