In this paper, the author concludes that the lesson for music educators is that every musical experience that is offered to students affects their brains, bodies, and feelings. In short, it changes their minds permanently, and, if educators are conscientious, it does so progressively. Such a process is called "learning." That capacity to learn, to…

This study examined the right hemisphere contribution to the production of linguistic prosody where acoustic features of prosodic structures in different linguistic contexts were examined accompanied by perceptual judgements. When control and right hemisphere damaged (RHD) subjects were asked to produce lexical stress differences (Experiment 1),…

In this paper we discuss recent neuroimaging evidence on three issues: (1) whether the same "language" areas are used to process a second language (L2) as the first language (L1) (2) the extent to which this depends on age of acquisition and (3) to the extent that the same areas of the brain are used, are they used in the same way? The results…

Erin Rasmussen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Idaho State University where she teaches learning, behavioral pharmacology, senior seminar, and introductory psychology. She received her MS and PhD in experimental psychology (with a minor in behavioral pharmacology and toxicology) from Auburn University. She taught at…

The cerebral regulation of cardiovascular functioning varies along both a lateral and a longitudinal axis. The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are lateralized to the left and right cerebral hemispheres, respectively. Further, the frontal lobes are known to be inhibitory in nature, whereas the temporal lobes are excitatory. However,…

The prism adaptation test examines procedural learning (PL) in which performance facilitation occurs with practice on tasks without the need for conscious awareness. Dynamic interactions between frontostriatal cortices, basal ganglia, and the cerebellum have been shown to play key roles in PL. Disruptions within these neural networks have also…

Recent imaging (e.g., MacSweeney et al., 2002) and lesion (Hickok, Love-Geffen, & Klima, 2002) studies suggest that sign language comprehension depends primarily on left hemisphere structures. However, this may not be true of all aspects of comprehension. For example, there is evidence that the processing of topographic space in sign may be…

We examined the effect of localized brain lesions on processing of the basic speech acts (BSAs) of question, assertion, request, and command. Both left and right cerebral damage produced significant deficits relative to normal controls, and left brain damaged patients performed worse than patients with right-sided lesions. This finding argues…

Basic behavioral neuroscience research with monkeys has given rise to an efficacious new approach to the rehabilitation of movement after stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and other types of neurological injury in humans termed Constraint-Induced Movement therapy or CI therapy. For the upper extremity, the treatment involves…

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the study of reading and reading disability with the use of functional neuroimaging techniques. There is substantial converging evidence that skilled word recognition requires the development of a highly integrated cortical system that includes left hemisphere dorsal, ventral, and anterior…

Camille Tessitore King is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where she teaches Introduction to Psychology, Great Experiments in Psychology, Biological Psychology, as well as other advanced topic courses such as Drugs and Behavior. She received her BA, MA, and PhD from the University of…

The authors present a neurological theory of how cognitive information and emotional information are integrated in the nucleus accumbens during effective decision making. They describe how the nucleus accumbens acts as a gateway to integrate cognitive information from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus with emotional…

This primer introduces a Special Section on brain imaging, which includes a commentary and 10 data papers presenting applications of brain imaging to questions on developmental psychopathology. This primer serves two purposes. First, the article summarizes the strength and weaknesses of various brain-imaging techniques typically employed in…

Using both the lesion method and functional imaging (positron emission tomography) in large cohorts of subjects investigated with the same experimental tasks, we tested the following hypotheses: (A) that the retrieval of words which denote concrete entities belonging to distinct conceptual categories depends upon partially segregated regions in…

The Sprague effect is well-established--small tectal lesions restore visual orientation in the hemianopic field of animals with extensive unilateral geniculo-striate lesions. Studies of human midbrain visual functions are rare. This man with a midbrain tumour developed left-neglect through subsequent right frontal damage. Bilateral orientation…