Relational Belief Reports

Philosophical Studies -     

Mechanical knowledge does matter to tool use even when assessed with a non-production task: Evidence from left brain-damaged patients

In the literature on apraxia of tool use, it is now accepted that using familiar tools requires semantic and mechanical knowledge. However, mechanical knowledge is nearly always assessed with production tasks, so one may assume that mechanical knowledge and familiar tool use are associated only because of their common motor mechanisms. This notion may be challenged by demonstrating that familiar tool use depends on an alternative tool selection task assessing mechanical knowledge, where alternative uses of tools are assumed according to their physical properties but where actual use of tools is not needed. We tested 21 left brain-damaged patients and 21 matched controls with familiar tool use tasks (pantomime and single tool use), semantic tasks and an alternative tool selection task. The alternative tool selection task accounted for a large amount of variance in the single tool use task and was the best predictor among all the semantic tasks. Concerning the pantomime of tool use task, group and individual results suggested that the integrity of the semantic system and preserved mechanical knowledge are neither necessary nor sufficient to produce pantomimes. These results corroborate the idea that mechanical knowledge is essential when we use tools, even when tasks assessing mechanical knowledge do not require the production of any motor action. Our results also confirm the value of pantomime of tool use, which can be considered as a complex activity involving several cognitive abilities (e.g., communicative skills) rather than the activation of gesture engrams.     

The semantic‐similarity effect in children: Influence of long‐term knowledge on verbal short‐term memory

The present research was designed to highlight the relation between children's categorical knowledge and their verbal short‐term memory (STM) performance. To do this, we manipulated the categorical organization of the words composing lists to be memorized by 5‐ and 9‐year‐old children. Three types of word list were drawn up: semantically similar context‐dependent (CD) lists, semantically similar context‐independent (CI) lists, and semantically dissimilar lists. In line with the procedure used by Poirier and Saint‐Aubin (1995) , the dissimilar lists were produced using words from the semantically similar lists. Both 5‐ and 9‐year‐old children showed better recall for the semantically similar CD lists than they did for the unrelated lists. In the semantic similar CI condition, semantic similarity enhanced immediate serial recall only at age 9 but contributed to item information memory both at ages 5 and 9. These results, which indicate a semantic influence of long‐term memory (LTM) on serial recall from age 5, are discussed in the light of current models of STM. Moreover, we suggest that differences between results at 5 and 9 years are compatible with pluralist models of development.     

Behavioural precursors of attachment representations in middle childhood and links with child social adaptation

Concordance between age‐6 attachment behaviour and age‐8 doll play attachment representations during the school‐age period, and associations between these measures and child social adaptation at school were examined. One hundred and twenty‐nine 6‐year‐olds and their mothers participated in a separation/reunion protocol. Two years later, 104 children completed a doll play narrative task. Teachers evaluated child behaviour problems and prosocial behaviour at both ages. Results showed a significant four‐way concordance between age‐6 attachment behaviour and age‐8 doll play classifications. Each of the four attachment classifications was concordant in the absence of major negative life‐events, but only the disorganized classifications remained concordant when at least one negative life‐event occurred between the two assessment times. Children with a disorganized attachment classification or representation had higher externalizing scores than secure and avoidant children at both timepoints. Finally, the avoidant and disorganized behavioural classifications predicted avoidant and disorganized representations, respectively, even when controlling for age‐6 teacher reports of social adaptation.     

Acalculia: Historical development and current significance

Acalculia is a loss of calculating abilities occurring as a result of cerebral damage. This paper reviews the development of the notion of acalculia from an expected concomitant of aphasia or dementia to that of a sometimes autonomous disorder. Current evidence indicates that acalculia tends to occur particularly in lesions of the left posterior hemispheric areas.     

Contribution of the dorsal subiculum to memory for temporal order and novelty detection using objects,odors, or spatial locations in the rat

The contribution of the dorsal subiculum (DS) to memory for temporal order and novelty detection was assessed using a spontaneous exploration paradigm with objects (visual/tactile stimuli), odors, or spatial locations (Hunsaker, Fieldsted, Rosenberg, & Kesner, 2008). Rats with selective excitotoxic lesions of the DS were compared to sham-operated rats (SHAM) in the two exploration tests. In temporal order tests, two previously explored stimuli were presented and normal rats typically show a preference for exploring the stimulus that was first explored compared to the other stimulus. In novelty detection tests, a familiar and a new stimulus were presented and normal rats typically have a preference for exploring new stimuli. In temporal order tests, results indicated that Group SHAM explored significantly more the first than the last stimulus they met when the stimuli were odors or objects. In addition, SHAM rats predictably displayed a significant preference for the new stimulus in the novelty detection tests with objects, odors, and spatial locations. Group DS did not differ from controls on the temporal order and the novelty detection tests with objects or odors. However, on the novelty detection test with spatial locations, Group DS differed from Group SHAM. These results suggest that the DS is necessary for the memory of spatial locations but not of objects and odors.