Procedural learning and automatization process in children with developmental coordination disorder and/or developmental dyslexia

ObjectiveThere is increasing evidence to suggest that developmental dyslexia (DD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) actually form part of a broader disorder. Their frequent association could be justified by a deficit of the procedural memory system, that subtends many of the cognitive, motor and linguistic abilities that are impaired in both DD and DCD. However, studies of procedural learning in these two disorders have yielded divergent results, and in any case no studies have so far addressed the issue of automatization (dual-task paradigm).MethodsWe administered a finger tapping task to participants aged 8–12 years (19 DCD, 18 DD, and 22 with both DD and DCD) to explore procedural learning and automatic movements in these three groups of children, comparing motor performances at the prelearning stage, after 2 weeks of training, and in a post-training dual-task condition.ResultsFirst, results indicated that all the children were able to learn a sequence of movements and even automatize their movements. Second, they revealed between-groups differences in procedural/automatization learning abilities, setting the DCD group apart from the other two. Third, contrary to our expectations concerning comorbidity, they suggested that the DD + DCD association does not have an additional impact on behavioral performances.     

Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning in combat veterans with and without post-traumatic stress disorder

Several recent studies have investigated relationships between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and learning and memory problems. These reports have found in general that not only does PTSD affect trauma-related memories, but when patients with PTSD are compared with similar trauma patients without PTSD, general memory impairments have been found. The present paper reports a study in which associative learning, using Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning, was investigated in combat veterans with and without chronic PTSD, using interstimulus intervals of 500 and 1000 msec in two separate experiments. Although several recent reports suggest that larger-magnitude autonomic conditioned responses occur in patients with PTSD during Pavlovian conditoning, the present study found evidence of impaired Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning in combat veterans with and without PTSD, compared to non-combat veterans. Although these data suggest that combat leads to an impaired associative learning process regardless of whether PTSD is apparent, a group of community-dwelling combat veterans not under medical treatment showed normal conditioning, suggesting that variables other than prior combat must also be involved.     

Statewide Implementation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis Through a Learning Collaborative Model

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) is an evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention (EBPI) for adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders that remains under-implemented in the United States (U.S.). There has been little empirical attention on implementation and dissemination strategies for this EBPI. The Learning Collaborative (LC) model is a method of implementing evidence-based practices across agencies and geographic regions that may facilitate CBTp implementation and dissemination in the US.We applied the LC model in an attempt to enhance the accessibility of CBTp in community mental health settings statewide. Providers (N = 56) from 12 agencies voluntarily participated in an in-person, CBTp workshop followed by 6 months of biweekly phone-based consultation sessions (Phase 1). Twenty-one providers opted to participate in an additional 6-month CBTp LC immediately following completion of the initial CBTp LC (Phase 2). Adoption, penetration, provider-perceived skill development, fidelity, as well as provider-perceived implementation barriers were re-assessed during and 6 months after completion of Phase 2.One year after the completion of the Phase 2 LC, 21% of the original trainee group across 3 of the 12 participating agencies continued to offer CBTp to clients. CBTp trainees were treating between one and two clients each. Self-assessed CBTp skills improved modestly over the Phase 2 consultation period. On average, both clinicians and supervisors reached an acceptable fidelity score on the sessions reviewed. Participating providers identified multiple barriers to CBTp implementation, including features of the training and consultation, the agency, the intervention itself, and psychosocial and clinical challenges associated with the client population.Few CBTp implementation studies have applied a framework to CBTp implementation. The authors adapted the LC model in an attempt to promote adoption of CBTp in community mental health clinics across a large, populous state with poor access to mental health services. Identified challenges and recommendations should be considered in future implementation efforts.     

Novel labels support 10-month-olds’ attention to novel objects

What is the source of the mutual exclusivity bias whereby infants map novel labels onto novel objects? In an intermodal preferential looking task, we found that novel labels support 10-month-olds’ attention to a novel object over a familiar object. In contrast, familiar labels and a neutral phrase gradually reduced attention to a novel object. Markman (1989, 1990) argued that infants must recall the name of a familiar object to exclude it as the referent of a novel label. We argue that 10-month-olds’ attention is guided by the novelty of objects and labels rather than knowledge of the names for familiar objects. Mutual exclusivity, as a language-specific bias, might emerge from a more general constraint on attention and learning.     

Estimation and visualization of confusability matrices from adaptive measurement data

We present a simple but effective method based on Luce’s choice axiom [Luce, R.D. (1959). Individual choice behavior: A theoretical analysis. New York: John Wiley & Sons] for consistent estimation of the pairwise confusabilities of items in a multiple-choice recognition task with arbitrarily chosen choice-sets. The method combines the exact (non-asymptotic) Bayesian way of assessing uncertainty with the unbiasedness emphasized in the classical frequentist approach.We apply the method to data collected using an adaptive computer game designed for prevention of reading disability. A player’s estimated confusability of phonemes (or more accurately, phoneme-grapheme connections) and larger units of language is visualized in an easily understood way with color cues and explicit indication of the accuracy of the estimates. Visualization of learning-related changes in the player’s performance is considered.The empirical validity of the choice axiom is evaluated using the game data itself. The axiom appears to hold reasonably well although a small systematic violation is observable for the smallest choice-set sizes.     

Memory for symmetry and perceptual binding in patients with schizophrenia

The present study investigated the use of perceptual binding processes in schizophrenic (SC) patients and matched healthy controls, by examining their performance on the recall of symmetrical (vertical, horizontal and diagonal) and asymmetrical patterns varying in length between 2 and 9 items. The results showed that, although SC patients were less accurate than controls in all conditions, both groups recalled symmetrical patterns better than asymmetrical ones. The impairment of SC patients was magnified with supra-span symmetrical arrays, and they were more likely to reproduce symmetrical patterns as asymmetrical, particularly at medium and high length levels. Hierarchical regression analyses further indicated that the between-group differences in the recall of supra-span vertical and horizontal arrays, which require a greater involvement of visual pattern processes, remained significant after removing the variance associated with performance on asymmetrical patterns, which primarily reflects intrafigural spatial processes. It is proposed that schizophrenia may be associated with a specific deficit in the formation and retrieval of the global visual images of studied patterns and in the use of the on-line information about the type of symmetry being tested to guide retrieval processes.     

The development of category learning strategies: What makes the difference?

Category learning can be achieved by identifying common features among category members, distinctive features among non-members, or both. These processes are psychologically and computationally distinct, and may have implications for the acquisition of categories at different hierarchical levels. The present study examines an account of children’s difficulty in acquiring categories at the subordinate level grounded on these distinct comparison processes. Adults and children performed category learning tasks in which they were exposed either to pairs of objects from the same novel category or pairs of objects from different categories. The objects were designed so that for each category learning task, two features determined category membership whereas two other features were task irrelevant. In the learning stage participants compared pairs of objects noted to be either from the same category or from different categories. Object pairs were chosen so that the objective amount of information provided to the participants was identical in the two learning conditions. We found that when presented only with object pairs noted to be from the same category, young children (6 ? YO ? 9.5) learned the novel categories just as well as older children (10 ? YO ? 14) and adults. However, when presented only with object pairs known to be from different categories, unlike older children and adults, young children failed to learn the novel categories. We discuss cognitive and computational factors that may give rise to this comparison bias, as well as its expected outcomes.     

Short-term gains, long-term pains: How cues about state aid learning in dynamic environments

Successful investors seeking returns, animals foraging for food, and pilots controlling aircraft all must take into account how their current decisions will impact their future standing. One challenge facing decision makers is that options that appear attractive in the short-term may not turn out best in the long run. In this paper, we explore human learning in a dynamic decision making task which places short- and long-term rewards in conflict. Our goal in these studies was to evaluate how people’s mental representation of a task affects their ability to discover an optimal decision strategy. We find that perceptual cues that readily align with the underlying state of the task environment help people overcome the impulsive appeal of short-term rewards. Our experimental manipulations, predictions, and analyses are motivated by current work in reinforcement learning which details how learners value delayed outcomes in sequential tasks and the importance that “state” identification plays in effective learning.     

Errors, efficiency, and the interplay between attention and category learning

Learning to identify objects as members of categories is an essential cognitive skill and learning to deploy attention effectively is a core component of that process. The present study investigated an assumption imbedded in formal models of categorization: error is necessary for attentional learning. Eye-trackers were used to record participants’ allocation of attention to task relevant and irrelevant features while learning a complex categorization task. It was found that participants optimized their fixation patterns in the absence of both performance errors and corrective external feedback. Optimization began immediately after each category was mastered and continued for many trials. These results demonstrate that error is neither necessary nor sufficient for all forms of attentional learning.     

中学生厌学心理及其干预与学习效率的相关研究

本研究旨在考察两个问题：1．心理咨询是否是改变中学生厌学心理的有效途径,如果是,它能够在多大程度上改变厌学心理;2．厌学心理的改善能否有效提高中学生学习效率。本实验用问卷调查法从183名中学生中筛选出有厌学心理的学生24名。运用个体心理咨询、团体心理咨询等手段对这24名学生进行为期4个月干预、结果表明：心理咨询能够有效且明显地改善厌学心理。但要完全消除厌学心理则还需要辅以其他干预手段;随着学生厌学心理的改善,其学习效率也相应有了明显的提高。