Instrumental learning in hyperdopaminergic mice

In two experiments we investigated the effects of elevated dopaminergic tone on instrumental learning and performance using dopamine transporter knockdown (DAT KD) mice. In Experiment 1, we showed that both DAT KD mice and wild-type controls were similarly sensitive to outcome devaluation induced by sensory specific satiety, indicating normal action-outcome learning in both groups. In Experiment 2, we used a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer procedure to assess the potentiation of instrumental responding by Pavlovian conditional stimuli (CS). Although during the Pavlovian training phase the DAT KD mice entered the food magazine more frequently in the absence of the CS, when tested later both groups showed outcome-selective PIT. These results suggest that the elevated dopaminergic tone reduced the selectivity of stimulus control over conditioned behavior, but did not affect instrumental learning.     

Conditional visuo-motor learning and dimension reduction

Conditional visuo-motor learning consists in learning by trial and error to associate visual cues with correct motor responses, that have no direct link. Converging evidence supports the role of a large brain network in this type of learning, including the prefrontal and the premotor cortex, the basal ganglia (BG) and the hippocampus. In this paper we focus on the role of a major structure of the BG, the striatum. We first present behavioral results and electrophysiological data recorded from this structure in monkeys engaged in learning new visuo-motor associations. Visual stimuli were presented on a video screen and the animals had to learn, by trial and error, to select the correct movement of a joystick, in order to receive a liquid reward. Behavioral results revealed that the monkeys used a sequential strategy, whereby they learned the associations one by one although they were presented randomly. Human subjects, tested on the same task, also used a sequential strategy. Neuronal recordings in monkeys revealed learning-related modulations of neural activity in the striatum. We then present a mathematical model inspired by viability theory developed to implement the use of strategies during learning. This model complements existing models of the BG based on reinforcement learning (RL), which do not take into account the use of strategies to reduce the dimension of the learning space.     

Assessment of Reading and Learning Disabilities A Research-Based Intervention-Oriented Approach

Assessment practices for children with learning disabilities (LD) in reading are driven by the three primary components of the federal definition of LD: discrepancy, heterogeneity, and exclusion. This article reviews the implications of these three components for the assessment of children with reading disabilities and other forms of LD. We propose a rationale and procedures for more efficient approaches to the identification of children as learning disabled in reading or at-risk for these disabilities that are aligned with research on reading disabilities and other forms of LD. This approach emphasizes the assessment of academic skills and their components in an effort to develop intervention plans. Intelligence tests are not necessary for the identification of children as learning disabled and do not contribute to intervention planning.     

Rate and duration memory of naturalistic sounds

Research has shown that the tempi of familiar songs are remarkably well-remembered with a high degree of accuracy. The goal of the present research was to determine whether this ability generalizes to various types of ecological sounds and, if so, how rate information is encoded into the cognitive system. Across three experiments, participants were familiarized with a set of sounds and later asked to remember the rate of each. Experiment 1 revealed that the inherent rate of sounds is incidentally learned such that subsequent recognition is comparable across both prospective and retrospective paradigms. Experiment 2 confirmed these findings through an adjustment task and further demonstrated that memory for event rate remains highly accurate regardless if attending is initially directed toward a sound's rate and/or pitch qualities. Lastly, Experiment 3 assessed the ability to recognize event rate vs. duration when the two dimensions systematically co-vary with one another and revealed that rate variations influence duration recognition but not vice versa. These overall findings are discussed relative to a framework that emphasizes the role of event structure in time judgment behavior.     

Young children’s acquisition of knowledge about the Earth: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examined the acquisition of early knowledge of astronomy to determine whether children’s knowledge at any point in time is consistent with a naive “mental model.” Children were first assessed by means of open questions and drawing tasks at 2 and 3 years of age (N = 143). The knowledge was reassessed over the course of the following 3 years. The results showed that although a few indications of naive mental models were found, in most cases young children’s knowledge was fragmented and accurate knowledge was often expressed alongside inaccurate/synthetic ideas. Furthermore, it was shown that children need to know scientific facts before they start taking the global perspective when describing the world and, when faced with ambiguous open questions, children often experience difficulties that can induce them to change the types of answers they provide.     

No two cues are alike: Depth of learning during infancy is dependent on what orients attention

Human infants develop a variety of attentional mechanisms that allow them to extract relevant information from a cluttered multimodal world. We know that both social and nonsocial cues shift infants’ attention, but not how these cues differentially affect learning of multimodal events. Experiment 1 used social cues to direct 8- and 4-month-olds’ attention to two audiovisual events (i.e., animations of a cat or dog accompanied by particular sounds) while identical distractor events played in another location. Experiment 2 directed 8-month-olds’ attention with colorful flashes to the same events. Experiment 3 measured baseline learning without attention cues both with the familiarization and test trials (no cue condition) and with only the test trials (test control condition). The 8-month-olds exposed to social cues showed specific learning of audiovisual events. The 4-month-olds displayed only general spatial learning from social cues, suggesting that specific learning of audiovisual events from social cues may be a function of experience. Infants cued with the colorful flashes looked indiscriminately to both cued locations during test (similar to the 4-month-olds learning from social cues) despite attending for equal duration to the training trials as the 8-month-olds with the social cues. Results from Experiment 3 indicated that the learning effects in Experiments 1 and 2 resulted from exposure to the different cues and multimodal events. We discuss these findings in terms of the perceptual differences and relevance of the cues.     

Development and learning: a TASC-based perspective of the acquisition of perceptual-motor behaviors

The concepts of development and learning are discussed in terms of different theoretical orientations to the study of motor behavior. It is argued that although these concepts are commonly used to discuss various aspects of change across the life span, there is little agreement regarding the definition of these terms and even whether these are useful concepts for researchers studying change over time. A theoretical approach, the TASC-based approach is presented as an alternative account for examining change over time. The TASC label stands for a focus on particular tasks, adaptation and selection of behaviors as a function of constraints. This account is grounded in evolutionary theory and assumes that variability, selection, and adaptation are central to change over time within individuals. Emphasis is placed on the tasks individuals attempt to solve in achieving particular goals given the constraints of the local environment and the organism. An alternative manner to conceptualize the concepts of development and learning are presented within the TASC-based approach.     

Transformative Learning: A Case for Using Grounded Theory as an Assessment Analytic

Transformative Learning Theory and pedagogies leverage disruptive experiences as catalysts for learning and teaching. By facilitating processes of critical analysis and reflection that challenge assumptions, transformative learning reframes what counts as knowledge and the sources and processes for gaining and producing it. Students develop a broader range of perspectives on and entry points for learning and behavior change engaging cognition, embodiment, aesthetics, emotions, and ethics (see Mezirow 1991 and Figures 1 and 2). The open‐inquiry, multi‐modal nature of transformative learning defies most traditional assessment strategies. This article demonstrates that grounded theory offers the rigorous qualitative analysis needed to document and track transformative learning outcomes in practice. By applying a grounded theory approach to data from over eighty student portfolios across several iterations of a Religion and Ecology course at Emory University, this article demonstrates a successful and replicable assessment of transformative learning pedagogies.     

Evidence for the effectiveness of holistic process goals for learning and performance under pressure

ObjectivesResearch has suggested that holistic process goals might help avoid the effects associated with conscious processing of task relevant information by skilled but anxious athletes. This experiment compared the efficacy of holistic and part process goal strategies for novices using a learning paradigm.DesignLaboratory-based experimental design incorporating practice, retention and transfer phases.MethodTwenty-four males were randomly assigned to a part process goal, holistic process goal or control condition and performed a simulated race-driving task in practice, retention and transfer tests.ResultsAnalyses of variance revealed that performance during practice was similar in all conditions but that the holistic process goal group outperformed the part process goal group at both retention and transfer.ConclusionsCompared to part process goals, holistic process goals result in more effective motor learning and performance that appears to be more robust under pressure.