Memory reactivation effects independent of reconsolidation

Memory reactivation is an important process resulting from reexposure to salient training-related information whereby a memory is brought from an inactive to an active state. Reactivation is the first stage of memory retrieval but can result from the exposure to salient cues without any behavioral output. Such cue-induced reactivation, although frequently used by neuroscientists to study reconsolidation, has seldom been considered as a process in its own right and studied as such. This review presents arguments indicating that memory reactivation has two main consequences: (1) to enhance the accessibility of the target memory and (2) to make the memory malleable. Accordingly, reactivation creates a transient state during which the content of the memory is easily accessible and can be modified and/or updated. As both of these aspects can be observed shortly after memory reactivation, this review emphasizes that reconsolidation is not necessarily required for these processes and calls attention to reactivation as a factor in the dynamics of the memory.     

Auditory processing measures: correlation with neuropsychological measures of attention, memory, and behavior.

It has been suggested that measures of auditory processing (AP) are sensitive measures of attention resulting in the high comorbidity of auditory processing disorder (APD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Others have found that selected AP measures share significant variance with memory tasks. The current study investigated the relation between AP measures and various neuropsychological measures presumed to measure attention and memory in 36 children with a mean age of 7.78 years (SD=1.61) referred to an outpatient facility. Results indicate that AP measures significantly correlated with each other as well as with some measures of attention, memory, and behavior ratings. Results suggest that although AP measures include elements of both attention and memory, these measures also appear to assess processes not tapped by other measures of attention and memory. The correlation of AP measures with parent-and teacher-rated withdrawal, parent-rated somatization, conduct, and depression, as well as teacher-rated attention, anxiety, learning problems, social skills, and leadership suggest that auditory processing problems may manifest in myriad behaviors across settings. Implications for practice and future research are presented.     

The effects of a target–stimulus reminder on performance in a novel object recognition task

The effects of original training-stimulus pre-test reminders were examined in a novel object recognition (NOR) task. NOR is a task that examines memory for complex stimuli, and is driven by the rats’ tendency to spend significantly more time exploring novel objects over those previously experienced. In this task, a delay is imposed between a training experience during which the animal is allowed to investigate a set of identical objects, and a later test exposure where the animal encounters one of the original objects and a novel object with which it has had no previous experience. Experiment 1 demonstrated that performance at 24 h is significantly worse than at an immediate delay (1 min). In the second experiment, it was demonstrated that neither a 10-s nor a 30-s reminder treatment, in the absence of training, resulted in a level of preference for novelty, a measure of memory for the original object, that was significantly greater than chance. Experiment 3 illustrated significant performance effects of a 30-s training stimulus reminder administered 15 min prior to test with a 24-h retention interval. The final experiment illustrated that the additional 30-s of object exposure is effective in enhancing performance only if it occurs shortly prior to test. Animals receiving the additional 30-s immediately following training did not experience such beneficial effects. It was concluded, based upon these results, that pre-test training-stimulus reminders in this task produce effects similar to those seen in more traditional tasks of learning and memory.     

关于器官"交叉移植"现象的法律解读

由于我国<人体器官移植条例>规定活体器官移植只限于在配偶、直系亲属、三代以内旁系血亲以及"因帮扶形成的亲情关系"之间进行,然而在现实生活中却出现了多例器官"交叉移植"现象.如何界定、规范、处理这种法律事件,防止可能出现的法律风险以及伦理问题,已经成为当前人体器官移植医学实践与法律实践中的一个重要问题.     

腹膜间皮细胞EMT在腹膜纤维化中的研究进展及意义

腹膜透析是终末期肾衰患者肾脏替代治疗的重要手段,腹膜纤维化导致腹透效能下降及超滤衰竭,制约着腹膜透析的应用。腹膜间皮细胞上皮细胞间充质转化是腹膜纤维化的起始和可逆环节,因此预防和逆转EMT的发生发展可能是阻止和延缓腹膜纤维化、超滤衰竭的最佳策略,并将带来巨大的社会和经济效益。     

The role of balance dynamics in the active perception of orientation.

The Stoffregen and Riccio (1988) hypothesis that perceived orientation is determined primarily by balance dynamics was tested. Perception of orientation was evaluated in the context of a task that required Ss to control the roll orientation of a device in which they were seated. The device's direction of balance was manipulated across trials and thus was independent of gravity. Eighteen Ss participated in the investigation. After each trial, Ss estimated their mean tilt with respect to upright. Correlations of perceived tilt with tilt from balance were consistently higher than the correlations with gravity tilt. The dominance of balance over gravity depended on the magnitude of tilt from balance.     

Is the context shift effect a case of retrieval failure? The effects of retrieval enhancing treatments on forgetting under altered stimulus conditions in rats

This series of experiments sought to clarify the role of retrieval failure in forgetting that results from a change in context between training and testing (the context shift effect [CSE]). Because spontaneous forgetting (SF) is generally considered to reflect a retrieval failure, the effects of three manipulations known to alleviate SF were examined on forgetting due to an explicit shift in context at a short delay (24 hr). Pretest exposure to a reminder treatment involving the reinforcer from training (Experiment 1), pretest amphetamine administration (Experiment 2), and overtraining (Experiment 3) alleviated both SF and the CSE, supporting the view that the CSE reflects a retrieval deficit. Implications for the context change account of SF are discussed.     

节律在听觉言语理解中的作用

言语理解是听者接受外部语音输入并且获得意义的心理过程。日常交流中,听觉言语理解受多尺度节律信息的影响,常见有韵律结构节律、语境节律、和说话者身体语言节律三方面外部节律。它们改变听者在言语理解中的音素判别、词汇感知以及言语可懂度等过程。内部节律表现为大脑内神经振荡,其能够表征外部言语输入在不同时间尺度下的层级特征。外部节律性刺激与内部神经活动的神经夹带能够优化大脑对言语刺激的处理,并受到听者自上而下的认知过程的调节进一步增强目标言语的内在表征。我们认为它可能是实现内外节律相互联系并共同影响言语理解的关键机制。对内外节律及其联系机制的揭示能够为理解言语这种在多层级时间尺度上具有结构规律的复杂序列提供了一个研究窗口。     

孔子思想中的君子人格：心理学测量的探索

君子人格是中国文化(尤其是儒学思想)中的理想的人格特质, 对于理解中国文化心理具有重要意义, 但鲜有实证研究。通过经典文本的理论分析与心理测量的实证分析相结合的方法, 选取《论语》中孔子对君子的论述编制初测条目, 通过探索性和验证性因素分析、效标关联效度分析等实证研究方法(总样本量 = 1916), 对孔子思想中的君子人格的内在结构进行了探索, 并编制了具有良好信效度的测量工具。结果表明, 孔子思想中的君子人格包含了智仁勇、恭而有礼、喻义怀德、有所不为、持己无争5个因素。此外还考察了其与大五人格、中国人价值观、自我和谐、合作与竞争人格倾向、亲社会倾向等效标变量的相关关系。