Learning of a procedural motor-skill task is known to progress through a series of unique memory stages. Performance initially improves during training, and continues to improve, without further rehearsal, across subsequent periods of sleep. Here, we investigate how this delayed sleep-dependent learning is affected when the task characteristics…

Freezing to a tone following auditory fear conditioning is commonly considered as a measure of the strength of the tone-shock association. The decrease in freezing on repeated nonreinforced tone presentation following conditioning, in turn, is attributed to the formation of an inhibitory association between tone and shock that leads to a…

Consolidation refers to item stabilization in long-term memory. Retrieval renders a consolidated memory sensitive, and a "reconsolidation" process has been hypothesized to keep the original memory persistent. Some authors could not detect this phenomenon. Here we show that retrieved contextual fear memory is vulnerable to amnesic treatments and…

Transcriptional activation is a key process required for long-term memory formation. Recently, the transcriptional coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP) was shown to be critical for hippocampus-dependent long-term memory and hippocampal synaptic plasticity. As a coactivator with intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity, CBP interacts with…

We report that post-training inactivation of basolateral amygdala region (BLA) with muscimol impaired memory for contextual-fear conditioning (as measured by freezing) and intra-BLA norepinephrine enhanced this memory. However, pre-exposure to the context eliminated both of these effects. These findings provide a likely explanation of why an…

Long-term memory is dependent on protein synthesis and inhibiting such synthesis following training results in amnesia for the task. Proteins synthesized during training must be transported to the synapse and disrupting microtubules with Colchicines, and hence, blocking transport, results in transient amnesia. Reactivating memory for a previously…

Evidence has shown that the insulin and insulin receptor (IR) play a role in cognitive function. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying insulin's action on learning and memory are not yet understood. Here we investigated changes in long-term memory-associated expression of the IR and downstream molecules in the rat hippocampus. After…

This keynote article proposes a new model of language development based on processing, the sole mechanism of acquisition for the Acquisition by Processing Theory (APT). The language module--adapted from Jackendoff's distinction between integration (building complex structures) and interface (facilitating information transfer at the intersections…

Research findings concerning working memory impairment of children with learning disabilities, poor readers, and individuals with severe learning difficulties are examined within the framework of working memory. Results from developmental and experimental studies indicate a close link between the function of working memory and performance on…

Teachers intuitively recognize the importance of metacognition but may not be aware of its many dimensions. Mr. Martinez explores the varieties of metacognitive skills and then offers suggestions for cultivating them in learners of all ages. (Contains 4 endnotes.)

The conceptual level, working memory capacity and domain-specific skills of two girls (aged 7 and 11 years old) and two boys (aged 9 and 10 years old) who displayed exceptional intellectual performance were investigated from Case's neo-Piagetian theoretical perspective. Five measures of conceptual level and two measures of working memory capacity…

The executive attention theory of working memory capacity (WMC) proposes that measures of WMC broadly predict higher order cognitive abilities because they tap important and general attention capabilities (R. W. Engle & M. J. Kane, 2004). Previous research demonstrated WMC-related differences in attention tasks that required restraint of habitual…

The effect of a prior gist-based versus item-specific retrieval orientation on recognition of objects and words was examined. Prior item-specific retrieval increased item-specific recognition of episodically related but not previously tested objects relative to both conceptual- and perceptual-gist retrieval. An item-specific retrieval advantage…

Examines the utility of teaching reading using rime-based reading strategies with prereaders. Measures rhyming, phoneme identity, letter-sound knowledge, phonological working memory, First Nations language speaking ability, and reading. Concludes that progress in phonological awareness and word reading can be enhanced in prereaders by adding…

After hemispherectomy (removal or disconnection of an entire cerebral hemisphere) in childhood for treatment of intractable epilepsy, gross speech and language functions are often rescued. Whether more complex functions, such as syntactic processing, are selectively impaired, remains controversial. Here we present a cross-sectional study of…