Visual and auditory verbal learning using a selective reminding format was studied in a mixed clinical sample of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 42), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 83), velocardiofacial syndrome (n = 17) and neurotypicals (n = 38) using the Test of Memory and Learning to (1) more thoroughly…

Retroactive interference (RI) in list learning occurs when the learning of a second list of words interferes with the recall of the first learned list. Having the lists be thematically different can reduce retroactive interference within list learning; however, this study demonstrates how RI can be reduced when the lists contain similar words.…

Despite a decline in popularity within US society, posters continue to hold a prominent place within middle and high school science classrooms. Teachers' demand is satisfied by governmental and non-profit science organizations that produce and disseminate posters as tangible products resulting from their research, and instruments to communicate…

The role of the "foraging" ("for)" gene, which encodes a cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG), in food-search behavior in "Drosophila" has been intensively studied. However, its functions in other complex behaviors have not been well-characterized. Here, we show experimentally in "Drosophila" that the "for"…

Implicit contextual learning refers to the ability to memorize contextual information from our environment. This contextual information can then be used to guide our attention to a specific location. Although the medial temporal lobe is important for this type of learning, the basal ganglia might also be involved considering its role in many…

The central complex is a prominent structure in the "Drosophila" brain. Visual learning experiments in the flight simulator, with flies with genetically altered brains, revealed that two groups of horizontal neurons in one of its substructures, the fan-shaped body, were required for "Drosophila" visual pattern memory. However,…

Because of ongoing neuromaturation, youth with chronic alcohol/substance use disorders (AUD/SUD) are at risk for cognitive decrements during young adulthood. We prospectively examined cognition over 10 years based on AUD/SUD history. Youth (N = 51) with no AUD/SUD history (n = 14), persisting AUD/SUD (n = 18), or remitted AUD/SUD (n = 19) were…

Visual and verbal learning in a genetic metabolic disorder (cystinosis) were examined in the following three studies. The goal of Study I was to provide a normative database and establish the reliability and validity of a new test of visual learning and memory (Visual Learning and Memory Test; VLMT) that was modeled after a widely used test of…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate rapid automatized naming skills (RAN) and immediate memory processes in 243 Chinese Mandarin-speaking elementary readers (ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 5). For RAN subtests, the mean naming time decreased monotonically with grade level in good and average readers, and a similar trajectory was found in poor…

Neuronal modifications that accompany normal aging occur in brain neuropils and might share commonalties across phyla including the most successful group, the Insecta. This study addresses the kinds of neuronal modifications associated with loss of memory that occur in the hemimetabolous insect "Periplaneta americana." Among insects that display…

Surgical disconnection of the frontal cortex and inferotemporal cortex severely impairs many aspects of visual learning and memory, including learning of new object-in-place scene memory problems, a monkey model of episodic memory. As part of a study of specialization within prefrontal cortex in visual learning and memory, we tested monkeys with…

Many pupils have difficulties with the abstract verbal information in history lessons. In this study we assessed the value of active construction of multimodal representations of historical phenomena. In an experimental study we compared the learning outcomes of pupils who co-constructed textual representations, visual-textual representations, or…

High functioning autistic individuals (N=16) were compared with age-matched normal control subjects on a visual recognition matching task. Autistic subjects performed particularly poorly on meaningless material, but were able to utilize meaning to aid their visual memory. Results did not support a simple parallel between autism and mediotemporal…

Visual short-term memory depends upon an ordered two-dimensional array of locations for its existence, whereas associative memory relies on associations between character representatives. (CK)

A learner-centered approach is a central feature of instruction based on a constructivist learning model. However, there is some confusion regarding the requirement for behavioral activity as a prerequisite for a learner-centered environment. We offer evidence in this article that some types of behavioral activity can interfere with cognitive…