Effects on reading performance of indention patterns in a Chinese sign

This study investigated the effects of the use of indention in a public Chinese sign which can provide the reader with cues for the appropriate eye direction for reading a sign which facilitates reading. The between-subjects design had repeated observations on the indention design. The right or left column was indented in a Chinese sign of only two columns. 144 college students in Taiwan who served as subjects were divided into two groups by their reading comprehension and shown stimuli in a tachistoscope. Analysis showed that an indented design significantly reduced reading time but did not change accuracy rate. This result was consistent with the results of Duchnicky and Kolers' 1983 study and indicated that a reader can maintain accuracy while reducing reading time when reading a text designed with different kinds of indention layout. These results might aid designers of Chinese warning signs, especially for readers with lower reading scores.     

Effects of numbers of strokes on Chinese character recognition during a normal reading condition

Two experiments investigated recognition during a normal reading condition of Chinese characters which had varied numbers of strokes. In Exp. 1 the minimal legible character size necessary for attaining 95% recognition accuracy for various Chinese characters was empirically determined. The number of strokes comprising the characters ranged from 3 to 27. The results of a normal reading condition indicated that characters with more strokes had to be larger. In Exp. 2, recognition error rate and reading time measured in seconds were investigated for one Chinese character string composed of characters of minimally legible size versus conventional equal-size characters presented in a normal reading condition. Recognition error rates for the minimally legible size conditions were lower than those for the conventional size conditions. The reading times for the former were shorter. These results should provide a valuable reference for designing informational formats, literacy teaching, and the study of simplifying Chinese characters.     

Repetition priming in visual search: Episodic retrieval,not feature priming

Previous research has shown that when the targets of successive visual searches have features in common, response times are shorter. However, the nature of the representation underlying this priming and how priming is affected by the task remain uncertain. In four experiments, subjects searched for an odd-sized target and reported its orientation. The color of the items was irrelevant to the task. When target size was repeated from the previous trial, repetition of target color speeded the response. However, when target size was different from that in the previous trial, repetition of target color slowed responses, rather than speeding them. Our results suggest that these priming phenomena reflect the same automatic mechanism as the priming of pop-out reported by Maljkovic and Nakayama (1994). However, the crossover interaction between repetition of one feature and another rules out Maljkovic and Nakayama's (1994) theory of independent potentiation of distinct feature representations. Instead, we suggest that the priming pattern results from contact with an episodic memory representation of the previous trial.     

Selective modulation of some forms of schaffer collateral-CA1 synaptic plasticity in mice with a disruption of the CPEB-1 gene

CPEB-1 is a sequence-specific RNA binding protein that stimulates the polyadenylation-induced translation of mRNAs containing the cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE). Although CPEB-1 was identified originally in Xenopus oocytes, it has also been found at postsynaptic sites of hippocampal neurons where, in response to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation, it is thought to induce the polyadenylation and translation of alphaCaMKII and perhaps other CPE-containing mRNAs. Because some forms of synaptic modification appear to be influenced by local (synaptic) protein synthesis, we examined long-term potentiation (LTP) in CPEB-1 knockout mice. Although the basal synaptic transmission of Schaffer collateral-CA1 neurons was not affected in the knockout mice, we found that there was a modest deficit in LTP evoked by a single train of 100 Hz stimulation, but a greater deficit in LTP evoked by one train of theta-burst stimulation. In contrast, LTP evoked by either four trains of 100 Hz stimulation or five trains of theta-burst stimulation were not or were only modestly affected, respectively. The deficit in LTP evoked by single stimulation in knockout mice appeared several minutes after tetanic stimulation. Long-term depression (LTD) evoked by 1 Hz stimulation was moderately facilitated; however, a stronger and more enduring form of LTD induced by paired-pulse 1 Hz stimulation was unaffected. These data suggest that CPEB-1 contributes in the translational control of mRNAs that is critical only for some selected forms of LTP and LTD.     

Culture, trauma, and wellness: a comparison of heterosexual and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and two-spirit native americans

In a community-based sample of urban American Indian and Alaska Native adults, 25 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and two-spirit participants were compared with 154 heterosexual participants with respect to sociodemographic characteristics, Native, cultural participation, trauma, physical and mental health, and substance use. Compared with their heterosexual counterparts, two-spirit participants reported higher rates of childhood physical abuse and more historical trauma in their families, higher levels of psychological symptoms, and more mental health service utilization. Two-spirit participants reported differences in patterns of alcohol use and were more likely to have used illicit drugs other than marijuana. Discussion and recommendations for health promotion interventions and future research are presented in consideration of an "indigenist" health model and the multiple minority status of two-spirit people.     

Contextual cuing based on spatial arrangement of color

Previous studies have demonstrated that, in visual search, repetition of a target's "context" significantly improves search performance (contextual cuing; Chun & Jiang, 1998). Context in those studies was defined as either spatial configuration or featural combination. In the present work, we demonstrate that repeating the spatial arrangement of object colors (conjunction of spatial configuration and featural combination) also leads to contextual cuing (Experiment 1). Experiments 2 and 3 rule out the possibility that the contextual cuing we find in Experiment 1 is caused only by the spatial configuration of color patches. Experiment 4 rules out the possibility that it is caused only by featural combination. Experiments 5 and 6 demonstrate that color-arrangement-based contextual cuing is an unconscious process. Experiments 7 and 8 demonstrate that contextual cuing seems to be more effective onchromatic (hue) variation than on achromatic (luminance) variation. In sum, our results demonstrate that contextual cuing is not merely associated learning in separate domains; it is a more integrated process than has perhaps been appreciated.     

Measures of prefrontal system dysfunction in posttraumatic stress disorder

Clinical observations have suggested that individuals who have suffered traumatic stressful events exhibit disruption in abilities mediated by frontal brain systems. Therefore, this study employed tasks sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction, including delayed response (DR), delayed alternation (DA), object alternation (OA), delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS), and delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMTS), with participants having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Compared to controls, the PTSD participants were unimpaired on DA and DMTS, but they showed deficits on DR, OA, and DNMTS tasks. This pattern of results suggests disruption of functioning in selective prefrontal brain systems. Results are discussed in the context of the neuropsychological features of PTSD, as well as possible neuropathological and etiological underpinnings of this disorder.     

原因调节与反应调节的情绪变化过程

采用生理心理实验法研究忽视、抑制、重视、宣泄等方式调节负情绪的情绪变化过程,发现忽视有效减弱了主观感受和表情行为,并引起R-R问期更大的增加;抑制不能减弱主观感受,并引起手指脉搏血容振幅更大的增幅;重视增强了主观感受;宣泄增强了主观感受,并相对地减弱了生理激活水平。研究表明原因调节可以更有效地调整负情绪主观感受,反应调节使负情绪成分变化出现“水压模型”式循环动力特点;情绪调节过程实现着情绪在心理适应中的促进(或阻碍)作用。     

"米制"的时间层次网络结构研究

本研究通过两个实验来对米制时间顺序标码的层次网络结构的性质进行了探讨。研究结果表明,米制时间顺序标码系统要进行多层分组,由日子组成月份,由月份组成年份,最终形成了一个客观的、精确的层次网络的结构。不同层次的项目之间因加工方式的不同而出现了层次效应或者越界效应,同一层次的项目还在继续进行分组,不同小组之间出现了距离效应;被试对米制的时间信息标码层次网络表征的加工,是采用了“顶层一底层”的方向;对两个刺激项目进行直接比较判断或运算这两种加工的难易是不同的;本研究中没有发现方向效应。