Cerebral lateralization in individuals diagnosed as autistic in early childhood

Early infantile autism was found to be associated with an atypical pattern of cerebral lateralization. Based on EEG measures of hemispheric activation during cognitive processing, it was found that 7 of the 10 autistic individuals tested showed a pattern of hemispheric specialization rarely seen in the normal population; namely, a “reversal” in lateralization reflective of a lack of left-hemisphere specialization for linguistic functions. Furthermore, the autistic individuals' pattern of cognitive strengths and weakness is suggestive of a selective impairment of the left cerebral hemisphere.     

Vocal changes in stutterers and nonstutterers when speaking to children

Within the last few years, considerable attention has been devoted to the possibility that the amelioration of stuttering in many novel speaking conditions is a function of vocal changes with or without accompanying modifications in prosodic expression. These formulations have made reference primarily to conditions in which stutterers were induced into one or another novel speech pattern by an external stimulus such as masking noise, a rhythmic cue, or by instructions to sing, or read in unison with another speaker. In contrast, far less attention has been paid to other ameliorative conditions that lack a novel external stimulus or special instructions that direct the stutterer to speak in some unique manner. Speaking or reading to a child is an example of this latter type of condition. The present study was conducted to see if nine adult stutterers and a matched group of nonstutterers would evince vocal changes as they read aloud to another adult, a child, and a child and adult together. There was also a fourth control condition wherein the subjects read to one of the experimenters. Dependent measures of disfluency and stuttering, fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency deviation, fluent reading rate, and peak vocal sound pressure level were made and treated statistically. The major findings of this study indicated that, relative to the control condition, both subject groups exhibited several vocal changes when reading to a child alone and to a child and adult together. In addition, the stutterers experienced a reduction in disfluency, but only when reading to the child alone. The normal speakers exhibited too few disfluencies in the control condition for any meaningful change to occur in that dependent variable. The fact that the stutterers evinced vocal changes in both experimental conditions but a significant drop in disfluency in just one bears importantly on hypotheses that emphasize vocal changes in conditions that ameliorate stuttering.     

Response-contingent stimulation as a treatment for developmental failure in infancy

An 8-month-old infant with a developmental quotient of $\text{1}\text{1}\text{2}$ months was given response-contingent stimulation using a pressure-sensitive pillow which turned an overhead mobile. The subject learned to control the mobile by kicking the pillow, and concurrently began smiling at both the mobile and her mother for the first time. After mastering three contingencies on arm, head, and leg movement, she displayed what appeared to be a Piagetian coordinated secondary circular reaction, in which one response provided 4 seconds of access to another contingency. Although the subject remains severely retarded, the results suggest that some forms of developmental delay may be treated at least in part as a failure to develop contingency awareness.     

Punishment vs negative reinforcement in the aversive conditioning of auditory hallucinations1

The behavioural treatment of auditory hallucinations in three chronic schizophrenic patients is reported. Two treatment conditions, one in which white noise followed hallucinations and a second in which white noise was presented during reported hallucinations, were contrasted in a crossover design with a control condition where white noise was presented randomly. All three patients improved, although reported reductions in hallucinations were more marked in two cases than in the third. Some generalization of treatment effects was observed in all three patients. White noise presented concurrently with hallucinatory reports appeared to be the most effective. The implication of these findings for a theory of auditory hallucinations is discussed.     

Foundations of risk measurement. II. Effects of gains on risk

This paper presents the second part of a two-part study on axiomatizations of perceived risk. The first part (P. C. Fishburn, Foundations of risk measurement, I. Risk as probable loss. Mimeo., Bell Laboratories, 1981) focussed on risk as probable loss. The second part considers measures of risk that include effects of gains on perceived risk. It adopts the position that increased gains can reduce the risk of fixed probable losses without completely negating this risk. Moreover, every prospect that has no chance of yielding a loss is presumed to have no risk. Several numerical measures of risk are axiomatized. The more specialized are separable in gains and losses. Further specializations isolate the effects of loss and gain probabilities.     

灵长动物初级抽象概括能力的比较实验研究(Ⅰ)金丝猴对实物、照片和画片的概括

本实验的目的是研究金丝猴对于从三维客体到其二维的照片及图片的概括能力。实验在三只未成年金丝猴身上进行。在基础训练中,训练动物辨别墨水瓶模型和小房子模型。然后用它们的照片和图画进行测验。实验表明三只金丝猴都不能把对客体的辨别迁移到照片和图画上去。     

4-6岁儿童认知发展过程中直接认知成分与间接认知成分相互关系的研究

本实验是分析学前儿童认知过程中三种不同的条件(实物、照片、语言指示)对儿童计数、操作和比较活动的影响,探讨认知的各直接成分和各间接成分的关系在儿童认知发展中的作用;并了解3—6岁儿童在三种认知活动中的特点。     

豚尾猴(Macaca nemestrina)等灵长类动物反转学习的比较研究

不同种类猿猴脑高级机能的比较生理心理研究的资料很少,并且意见不完全一致。和(1997)曾报道黑猩猩较阿拉伯狒有较大的推断能力。Shell和Riopelle(1958)报道阔鼻猴蜘蛛猴(Ateles geoffroyi),卷尾猴(Cebus albifrons)