Background: Monitoring brain processes in real time requires genuine subsecond resolution to follow the typical timing and frequency of neural events. Non-invasive recordings of electric (EEG/ERP) and magnetic (MEG) fields provide this time resolution. They directly measure neural activations associated with a wide variety of brain states and…

This book presents eight articles on reading disability and its treatment, dealing with research in the field of dyslexia, reading and writing difficulties, and their handicapping consequences. Phonological awareness intervention approaches, different kinds of dyslexia subtyping, early prevention issues, and longitudinal data are dealt with in the…

Assessing higher cerebral functions in patients with known or suspected dementia requires sampling numerous abilities quickly and accurately. This paper reports on the performance of 20 patients with probable dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) on the BNI Screen for Higher Cerebral Functions (BNI Screen). These patients' performances were…

Differences between left and right hemispheric subjects in recalling information presented as pictures and words were studied. The hemisphericity of 133 college students (37 males and 96 females) was identified using the Human Information Process Survey. These subjects were shown 25 concrete nouns individually either as pictures or words. The data…

Designed to help practitioners become more familiar with the underpinnings, currents, pros and cons, and research studies produced by the critical-thinking movement in the United States, this special collection offers eight digests and three FAST (Focused Access to Selected Topics) annotated bibliographies concerning critical thinking at all…

Creativity is a natural skill, but one that can be lost in the pursuit of linear knowledge in the academic classroom. There are historical reasons why the development of natural creativity has been suppressed (the Enlightenment, for example, with its emphasis on scientific method and empirical proof). Right brain/left brain research and…

A summary of the use of hypnosis in sport (Morgan 1980) has suggested that the evidence in this area is equivocal, particularly in strength, endurance, and psychomotor tasks. However, some experiments have demonstrated the potential use of hypnosis. This paper presents examples of two elite Australian athletes who achieve success using hypnosis or…

To clarify the perceptions of college freshmen regarding the kind of teaching they experienced in public schools and how those experiences relate to the split-brain theory, a study surveyed 241 first-semester college freshmen from the fall of 1984 to the fall of 1987 at Southwest Missouri State University. Only students who had completed at least…

This review of the literature on the workings of the brain in relation to learning and instructional design reviews recent research on both long- and short-term memory, and discusses findings on lateralized or "split-brain" functions. Problems associated with short-term memory are also considered, and the concept of the Tribune Brain is…

This study addressed the left hemisphere deficiency hypothesis, associated with reading disability, by accounting for attention and examining the relationship between dichotic listening results and neuropsychological deficits. Twenty reading-disabled (RD) and 20 non-reading-disabled (NRD) boys, aged 8-12, were administered the Verbal Dichotic…

Whether intuitive abilities can be improved through purposeful training for a more holistic approach to education was the object of this study. It was hypothesized that individuals participating in a mental training program designed to improve right-brain intuitive abilities would show significant improvement in such abilities, while a control…

The study examined the relationship between perinatal stress and decreased right handedness and decreased left cerebral dominance for speech with 215 children born prematurely, followed from birth, and tested at age 5. Results indicated that neither hand preference nor hand performance correlated with degree of perinatal stress and that eye…

To examine intra- and interhemispheric communication or the transfer of information within and between the cerebral hemispheres, 32 right-handed learning disabled children aged 8-10 years, 11-13 years, and 14-16 years were presented a tactile discrimination task. Fabrics of the same or different texture were presented to the same hand (uncrossed…

Investigates the relationship between hemisphere, brain preferences, and academic failure or success by studying 131 average and above average fourth and seventh grade students. Concludes that cerebral hemisphere functions do affect learning. (MM)

There has been a longstanding interest among second and foreign language educators in research on language and the brain. By understanding how the brain learns naturally, language teachers may be better able to enhance their effectiveness in the classroom. This digest examines current brain research and discusses its implications for second…