Does direction of walking impact binocular rivalry between competing patterns of optic flow?

When dissimilar monocular images are viewed simultaneously by the two eyes, stable binocular vision gives way to unstable vision characterized by alternations in dominance between the two images in a phenomenon called binocular rivalry. These alternations in perception reveal the existence of inhibitory interactions between neural representations associated with conflicting visual inputs. Binocular rivalry has been studied since the days of Wheatstone, but one recent strategy is to investigate its susceptibility to influences caused by one’s own motor activity. This paper focused on the activity of walking, which produces an expected, characteristic direction of optic flow dependent upon the direction of one’s walking. In a set of experiments, we employed virtual reality technology to present dichoptic stimuli to observers who walked forward, backward, or were sitting. Optic flow was presented to a given eye, and was sometimes congruent with the direction of walking, sometimes incongruent, and sometimes random, except when the participant was sitting. Our results indicate that, while walking had a reliable influence on rivalry dynamics, the predominance of congruent or incongruent motion did not.     

A Note on Priest's Finite Inconsistent Arithmetics

We give a complete characterization of Priest's Finite Inconsistent Arithmetics observing that his original putative characterization included arithmetics which cannot in fact be realized.     

The role of inference in children's comprehension and memory for sentences

In a series of studies, young children often failed to construct and remember inferred relationships which they were capable of understanding. A cued recall procedure was employed to assess the relative effectiveness of implicit and explicit word prompts for sentence memory. The implicit cues were much less effective than the explicit cues for 6–7 yr old children while the cue types did not differ for 11–12 yr olds. Instructions to imitate the actions described by the sentences eliminated the memory difference for the young children. Developmental improvement in spontaneous inferential operations and intentional plans to remember are mechanisms which appear to yield an elaborated memory representation and greater access routes through indirect and implied relationships.     

The classification of personality disorders should be rooted in biology

As scientific classifications develop over time, they become based less on observations and more on mechanisms. Existing dimensional schema are limited by being overly broad and by being rooted in self-report rather than theory. Future models should be consistent with a scientific hierarchy, leading to a bottom-up classification of traits and disorders, linking molecular genetics, neurobiological markers, and temperamental variations.     

Black, Hispanic, and White American mothers of adolescents: construction of a national standard

Black, Hispanic, and White American mothers (n = 739) and adolescents (n = 806) completed the Parent Success Indicator to rate maternal performance on subscales of Communication, Use of Time, Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction, and Information Needs. A weighted method corresponding to ethnic proportions in the American population was applied to construct a national standard for comparative reference. In general, both generations perceived mother performance as favorable. Teaching received the highest rating followed by Satisfaction levels. Mothers felt that Information Needs were their greatest limitation while adolescents reported that their mothers were prone to frustration. The amount of time mothers and adolescents spent together was the most significant independent variable influencing parent performance. Other variables such as income and marital status had limited impact.