The fundamental preclinical and clinical studies of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine metabolism related to infantile autism are reviewed, and new studies are suggested, as examples of the productive strategies that will illuminate features of the autistic syndrome in the next decade. (Author)

The neural networks of several invertebrate animals are currently being studied for clues to cerebral function. The major goal of the studies is an understanding of the neural mechanisms behind learning. Organisms used, examples of research studies, and implications are discussed. (Author/JN)

The author reviews the controversy over definitions of learning disabilities and posits two "givens" in any defintion of the condition: that all learning is neurological, and that learning is conditioning. He proposes a definition based on neuropsychological dysfunction which can be translated into an educational regimen. (CL)

Retarded Ss receiving occipital alpha feedback significantly decreased their alpha density in reference to the random feedback (control) group. Results are discussed in terms of potential implications for visual attention, training techniques for mentally retarded adolescents, and other biofeedback applications. (Author)

Sixty-two learning disabled children (6 to 19 years old) were subgrouped according to etiology--neurocognitively impaired and neurocognitively intact. The two groups were found to be intellectually different from one another, as the impaired scored much lower on a general intelligence test than the intact. (Author/SB)

The author considers the future of learning disabilities, particularly in relation to mainstreaming, the perceptual deficit hypothesis, and the psychoneurology of learning. (SBH)

Five resistive activities (activities which integrate symmetric tonic neck reflex and facilitate learning) for use with problem learners are briefly described. Reports on using resistive activities with learning disabled children are offered. (SBH)

It has recently been shown that perceived motion, in the absence of any appropriate retinal motion, is a sufficient stimulus to generate smooth pursuit eye motions. However, three experiments show that perceived motion is not necessary for pursuit, but that retinal motion always governs pursuit. (BB)

This letter is polemic. It has been proposed that developmental dyslexia is associated with bilateral hemispheric representation of spatial function that interferes with specialized left hemispheric processing of linguistic information. The data presented, however, may not warrant this conclusion. (BB)

Tested whether alpha power in different sub-bands is selectively related to intelligence. For 74 Austrian subjects, the EEG was recorded during a resting session and 2 different intelligence tests were performed. Findings show a strong positive correlation between intelligence and alpha power. (SLD)

Audiologic test results were reviewed for 30 patients whose hearing was preserved following eighth nerve tumor surgery. Improved auditory brainstem response tracings were seen as probably indicating increased neural synchrony due to reduced pressure on the cochlear nerve following surgery, whereas reduced hearing sensitivity probably reflects…

Grossberg's principles of neural modeling are reviewed and extended to provide a neural level theory to explain how analogies greatly increase the rate of learning and can make learning and retention possible. (PR)

The dendritic structure of layer II-III pyramidal neurons of the parietal cortex in 41 Long-Evans rats was compared to behavioral assessments of attention to novelty, response flexibility, and reasoning. A significant correlation between dendritic arborization and behavioral performance was not demonstrated. (SLD)

This paper reviews literature supporting the notion that learning disabilities are presumed to be a result of central nervous system dysfunction. It focuses on the postmortem and neuroimaging studies that provide evidence of a neurological conceptualization of learning disabilities. (Author/JDD)

Neural network technology was compared with simultaneous and stepwise linear discriminant analysis in terms of their ability to classify and predict persons (n=138) as having autism or mental retardation. The neural network methodology was superior in both classifying groups and in generalizing to new cases that were not part of the training…