Movement and illumination factors in adaptation to prismatic viewing

While wearing laterally displacing prisms, Ss were required to align a spot of light to the phenomenal straightahead. These measurements were obtained at the beginning and at the end of an exposure to prismatic displacement. In addition, Ss either actively controlled movement of the spot of light, or movement was manipulated by E under the direction of the S. Aftereffects were determined by having S position the spot of light with normal vision at the beginning of the experiment and after each measurement obtained under prism viewing. Ss in the darkened room condition who were required to align the spot of light actively showed a significant aftereffect in the direction of prismatic displacement both at the beginning and at the end of the exposure period. No difference in the degree of adaptation was found between those measurements at the beginning and at the end of the exposure period. No significant aftereffects were found when the room was illuminated during prism exposure or when E controlled movement of the light source.     

Simultaneous independent threshold estimates: Multiple PEST

An adaptive threshold estimation procedure, PEST, has been extended to track sensitivity to many independent signals simultaneously within a single experimental run. This paradigm has been implemented on a PDP-8/S computer, and enables investigation of a number of otherwise experimentally intractible substantive problems. The logic of the new experimental paradigm is described, and some examples are given of its use in auditory research. Results of some computer simulations show the relative efficiency of the procedure and evaluate alternative ways to summarize data.     

Task analysis in curriculum design: a hierarchically sequenced introductory mathematics curriculum

A method of systematic task analysis is applied to the problem of designing a sequence of learning objectives that will provide an optimal match for the child's natural sequence of acquisition of mathematical skills and concepts. The authors begin by proposing an operational definition of the number concept in the form of a set of behaviors which, taken together, permit the inference that the child has an abstract concept of "number". These are the "objectives" of the curriculum. Each behavior in the defining set is then subjected to an analysis that identifies hypothesized components of skilled performance and prerequisites for learning these components. On the basis of these analyses, specific sequences of learning objectives are proposed. The proposed sequences are hypothesized to be those that will best facilitate learning, by maximizing transfer from earlier to later objectives. Relevant literature on early learning and cognitive development is considered in conjunction with the analyses and the resulting sequences. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the curriculum can be implemented and studied in schools. Examples of data on individual children are presented, and the use of such data for improving the curriculum itself, as well as for examining the effects of other treatment variables, is considered.     

A microprocessor-controlled clinical tromometer

A microprocessor-controlled clinical tromometer has been developed to permit routine monitoring of disease processes where tremor is a principal sign and in behavior studies where tremor may be used to index anxiety, stress, or response to Ethan. Emphasis is placed on the measurement technique and the design and construction of the device. The important role played by the microprocessor in providing for human factoring of the instrument to make it compatible with the clinical setting is examined.     

Applications of multiprogramming software to real-time experiments in psychology

Multiprogramming operating systems are often advertised as solving the problem of competition among independent tasks operating on the same computer system. In real-time laboratories, multiprogramming systems are much more valuable for their ability to manage the relationships among asynchronous, cooperating tasks that are part of a single experiment. This cooperation allows the programming of paradigms that would otherwise require the use of faster and more expensive hardware. Examples are given from several languages and operating systems, including the small, home-built PSYCLE system and the commercially available VORTEX II system.     

The problem with descriptive correctness

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the normativity of meaning was thought to be more-or-less ‘incontestable.’ But in the last 25 years, many philosophers of mind and language have contested it in several seemingly different ways. This, however, is somewhat illusory. There is an unappreciated commonality among most anti-normativist arguments, and this commonality, I argue, poses a problem for anti-normativism. The result, however, is not a wholesale rejection of anti-normativism. Rather, an insight from the anti-normativist position can be harnessed to reveal an unappreciated position in the normativity of meaning debate.     

Behavior as the central outcome in health care

A predominant justification for health psychology and behavioral medicine is that behavior or environmental conditions affect a biological process. Thus, many investigators focus attention on the effects of behavior on cell pathology and blood chemistry. This article argues that behavioral outcomes are the most important consequences in studies of health care and medicine. These outcomes include longevity, health-related quality of life, and symptomatic complaints. Traditional measures in biomedical science often have limited reliability and validity. Their validity is demonstrated only through relationships with longevity, role performance, behavioral functioning, and symptomatic experience, and these correlations are often modest. A model is proposed to guide future investigations. Biological, environmental, and psychological variables are included in the model as predictors or mediators of behavioral health outcomes. Recognizing that health outcomes are behavioral directs intervention toward whatever method produces the most health benefit at the lowest cost.     

Transgenic mice expressing a truncated form of CREB-binding protein (CBP) exhibit deficits in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory storage

Deletions, translocations, or point mutations in the CREB-binding protein (CBP) gene have been associated with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome; a human developmental disorder characterized by retarded growth and reduced mental function. To examine the role of CBP in memory, transgenic mice were generated in which the CaMKII alpha promoter drives expression of an inhibitory truncated CBP protein in forebrain neurons. Examination of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory storage, revealed significantly reduced late-phase LTP induced by dopamine-regulated potentiation in hippocampal slices from CBP transgenic mice. However, four-train induced late-phase LTP is normal. Behaviorally, CBP transgenic mice exhibited memory deficits in spatial learning in the Morris water maze and deficits in long-term memory for contextual fear conditioning, two hippocampus-dependent tasks. Together, these results demonstrate that CBP is involved in specific forms of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent long-term memory formation.