The author describes recent findings on the neurobiological mechanisms involved in perceptions of risk and safety. The term "Neuroception" describes how neural circuits distinguish whether situations or people are safe, dangerous, or life threatening. Neuroception explains why a baby coos at a caregiver but cries at a stranger, or why a…

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is characterized by a pattern of morphological, functional, and molecular characteristics with, in at least some cases, apparent relationships among phenotypic features at different levels. Gross morphology differences in the sizes of some human brain regions are accompanied by fine structural alterations in the shapes and…

In this review article, we summarize recent progress toward understanding the neural structures and circuitry underlying dysfunctional social cognition in autism. We review selected studies from the growing literature that has used the functional neuroimaging techniques of cognitive neuroscience to map out the neuroanatomical substrates of social…

Learning to associate a conditioned (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) results in changes in the processing of CS information. Here, we address directly the question whether chemical appetitive conditioning of "Lymnaea" feeding behavior involves changes in the peripheral and/or central processing of the CS by using extracellular recording…

A unique behavioral paradigm has been developed for "Periplaneta americana" that assesses the timing and success of memory consolidation leading to long-term memory of visual-olfactory associations. The brains of trained and control animals, removed at the critical consolidation period, were screened by two-directional suppression subtractive…

Brain-based teaching and learning focuses on how the brain learns best, and emerging brain research is a significant resource, but only if one knows how to use it as such. Teachers have the professional training and classroom experience to know first hand where there are problems in educational practices, but most teachers haven't been taught…

The return to drug seeking, even after prolonged periods of abstinence, is a defining feature of cocaine addiction. The neural circuitry underlying relapse has been identified in neuropharmacological studies of experimental animals, typically rats, and supported in brain imaging studies of human addicts. Although the nucleus accumbens (NAcc),…

Brains Rule! Neuroscience Expositions, funded through a National Institute on Drug Abuse Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award, has developed a successful model for informal neuroscience education. Each Exposition is a "reverse science fair" in which neuroscientists present short neuroscience teaching modules to students. This…

Recent advances in neuroscience describe the effect of experience on neural architecture. Paralleling these advances in neuroscience, recent explorations in the field of art therapy speculate on the relationship between specific therapeutic interventions and neuroplasticity, which underlies the changes in neural architecture. One such…

This article discusses factors in the design, commissioning, project management, and intellectual property protection of developments within a new clinical anatomy facility in the United Kingdom. The project was aimed at creating cost-effective facilities that would address widespread concerns over anatomy teaching, and support other activities…

The administrative structures that provide graduate neuroscience training at doctorate-granting institutions were studied, along with the number of faculty, research doctorates, graduate students, and postdoctorate trainees in neuroscience programs. Attention was also directed to the opinions of neuroscience experts regarding employment, training,…

Noting that linguistics and the neurological sciences have developed independently, this paper presents a coordinated approach to man's understanding of language, cognition, and mind. A neurological model is developed following a discussion of the rationale of such an approach. Chapters include: (1) the relation of neurological evidence to models…

Investigations and theories concerning interrelationships of motoric experiences, perceptual-motor skills, and learning are reviewed, with emphasis on early engramming of form and space concepts. Covered are studies on haptic perception of form, the matching of perceptual data and motor information, Kephart's perceptual-motor theory, and…

The empirical validity of Ertl's brain wave analyzer was investigated by the known contrasted groups method. Thirty-two academically talented and 16 academically handicapped were compared on four Primary Mental Abilities tests, two Sequential Tests of Educational Progress measures, and seven Brain Wave Analyzer measures. (Author/JKS)

Many children with spina bifida present organic characteristics such as muscle weakness below the spinal lesion. These medical aspects are discussed with respect to their influence on teaching self-care and motor skills and reducing self-injurious behavior. Recommendations for educational programming are made. (Author/JDD)