Licentîa hypomnema: reflections and perceptions in teacher education / Licentîa hypomnema: reflexões e percepções na formação de educadoras(es) / Licentîa hypomnema: reflexiones y percepciones en la formación del profesorado

Student protagonism is paramount in the knowledge construction process. In this paper, we discuss a didactic-pedagogical resource called licentîa hypomnema (LH), inspired in portfolios and learning diaries in which student-teachers record their understandings and reflections regarding pedagogical topics learned at University in a meta-learning process on learning about teaching. The initial context of the research was a Psychological Development and Teaching course, offered in the Teacher Education program at Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Two of the authors, then Literacy and Languages Teaching students, produced their LH and peer assessed each other during the course. In their annotations, the student-authors recorded two pedagogical situations related to the use of LH in their own teaching practices, causing an impact on their formative path. These materials consist of the data for analysis and discussion. Moreover, we discuss possible uses of reflexive writing in teacher education and other learning contexts. Producing a LH supports knowledge production and allows students to connect theory and practice, which consequently influences the student's teaching practice. Since LH is a didactic-pedagogical resource and not a close-ended tool, both the context and individuals who use it should be considered.(AU)

O protagonismo de estudantes tem grande importância no processo de construção do conhecimento. Neste artigo, discutimos um recurso didático-pedagógico chamado licentîa hypomnema (LH), inspirado em portfólios e diários de aprendizagem, isto é, estudantes de licenciatura escrevem suas compreensões e reflexões acerca de assuntos pedagógicos vistos na universidade em um processo de meta-aprendizagem sobre aprender a ensinar. O contexto inicial da pesquisa foi um curso de Desenvolvimento Psicológico e Ensino, ministrado em cursos de Licenciatura da Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Duas das autoras eram estudantes do curso de Letras, elas produziram seus LH, realizando avaliação por pares entre si durante o curso. As estudantes-autoras trouxeram em seus registros duas situações pedagógicas relacionadas ao uso desse recurso em suas próprias práticas de ensino que causaram um impacto em suas trajetórias formativas. São esses relatos que compõem os dados para análise e discussão. Além disso, procuramos discutir possíveis desdobramentos para o uso do recurso da escrita reflexiva na formação docente e em outros contextos de aprendizagem. A produção do LH fornece suporte para a produção de conhecimento e permite ao aluno conectar teoria e prática, o que, consequentemente, reverbera na prática de ensino do aluno. O LH é um recurso didático-pedagógico e não uma ferramenta fechada, portanto, tanto o contexto quanto as pessoas que o utilizam devem ser considerados.(AU)

El protagonismo de los estudiantes tiene gran importancia en el proceso de construcción del conocimiento. En este trabajo, discutimos un recurso didáctico-pedagógico llamado licentîa hypomnema (LH), que se inspira en diarios de aprendizaje, es decir, estudiantes de profesorado escriben sus comprensiones y reflexiones sobre temas pedagógicos aprendidos en la universidad, produciendo un proceso de meta-aprendizaje sobre aprender a enseñar. El contexto inicial de la investigación fue un curso de Desarrollo Psicológico y Enseñanza, impartido en el programa de Formación de Profesores de la Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Dos de las autoras eran alumnas de la carrera de Letras que produjeron sus LH y realizaron una evaluación por pares mutua durante el curso. Las estudiantes autoras plantearon en su LH dos situaciones pedagógicas relacionadas con el uso de este recurso en sus propias prácticas de enseñanza, causando un impacto en su trayectoria formativa. Estos materiales constituyen los datos para el análisis y la discusión en esta investigación. Buscamos discutir posibles desdoblamientos para el uso del recurso de la escritura reflexiva en la formación docente y en otros contextos de aprendizaje. La producción de este recurso da soporte a la producción de conocimiento y permite al estudiante conectar teoría y práctica, lo que consecuentemente repercute en su práctica docente. El LH es un recurso didáctico-pedagógico y no una herramienta cerrada, por lo tanto, se debe considerar tanto el contexto como las personas que lo utilizan.(AU)

Memory recall involves a transient break in excitatory-inhibitory balance.

The brain has a remarkable capacity to acquire and store memories that can later be selectively recalled. These processes are supported by the hippocampus which is thought to index memory recall by reinstating information stored across distributed neocortical circuits. However, the mechanism that supports this interaction remains unclear. Here, in humans, we show that recall of a visual cue from a paired associate is accompanied by a transient increase in the ratio between glutamate and GABA in visual cortex. Moreover, these excitatory-inhibitory fluctuations are predicted by activity in the hippocampus. These data suggest the hippocampus gates memory recall by indexing information stored across neocortical circuits using a disinhibitory mechanism.

Memories are stored by distributed groups of neurons in the brain, with individual neurons contributing to multiple memories. In a part of the brain called the neocortex, memories are held in a silent state through a balance between excitatory and inhibitory activity. This is to prevent them from being disrupted by incoming information. When a memory is recalled, an area of the brain called the hippocampus is thought to instruct the neocortex to activate the appropriate neuronal network. But how the hippocampus and neocortex coordinate their activity to switch memories 'on' and 'off' is unclear. The answer may lie in the fact that neurons in the neocortex consist of two broad types: excitatory and inhibitory. Excitatory neurons increase the activity of other neurons. They do this by releasing a chemical called glutamate. Inhibitory neurons reduce the activity of other neurons, by releasing a chemical called GABA. Koolschijn, Shpektor et al. hypothesized that the hippocampus activates memories by changing the balance of excitatory and inhibitory activity in neocortex. To test this idea, Koolschijn, Shpektor et al. invited healthy volunteers to explore a virtual reality environment. The volunteers learned that specific sounds in the environment predicted the appearance of particular visual patterns. The next day, the volunteers returned to the environment and viewed these patterns again. After each pattern, they were invited to open a virtual box. Volunteers learned that some patterns led to money in the virtual box, while other patterns did not. Finally, on day three, the volunteers listened to the sounds from day one again, this time while lying in a brain scanner. The volunteers' task was to infer whether each of the sounds would lead to money. Given that the sounds were never directly paired with the content of the virtual box, the volunteers had to solve the task by recalling the associated visual patterns. As they did so, the brain scanner measured their overall brain activity. It also assessed the relative levels of excitatory and inhibitory activity in visual areas of the neocortex, by measuring glutamate and GABA. The results revealed that as the volunteers recalled the visual cues, activity in both the hippocampus and the visual neocortex increased. Moreover, the ratio of glutamate to GABA in visual neocortex also increased which was predicted by activity in the hippocampus. This suggests that the hippocampus reactivates memories stored in neocortex by temporarily increasing excitatory activity to release memories from inhibitory control. Disturbances in the balance of excitation and inhibition occur in various neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy and Tourette's syndrome. Damage to the hippocampus is known to cause amnesia. The current findings suggest that memories may become inaccessible ­ or may be activated inappropriately ­ when the interaction between the hippocampus and neocortex goes awry. Future studies could test this possibility in clinical populations.

Elements of creative thought: Investigating the cognitive and neural correlates of association and bi-association processes.

Creative thinking relies on the ability to make remote associations and fruitfully combine unrelated concepts. Hence, original associations and bi-associations (i.e., associations to one and two concepts, respectively) are considered elementary cognitive processes of creative cognition. In this work, we investigated the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying these association processes with tasks that asked for original associations to either one or two adjective stimuli. Study 1 showed that the generation of more original associations and bi-associations was related to several indicators of creativity, corroborating the validity of these association performances as basic processes underlying creative cognition. Study 2 assessed brain activity during performance of these association tasks by means of fMRI. The generation of original versus common associations was related to higher activation in bilateral lingual gyri suggesting that cued search for remote representatives of given properties are supported by visually-mediated search strategies. Parametric analyses further showed that the generation of more original associations involved activation of the left inferior frontal cortex and the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which are consistently implicated in constrained retrieval and evaluation processes, and relevant for making distant semantic connections. Finally, the generation of original bi-associations involved higher activation in bilateral hippocampus and inferior parietal lobe, indicating that conceptual combination recruits episodic simulation processes. Together, these findings suggest that the generation of verbally cued, original associations relies not only on verbal semantic memory but involves mental imagery and episodic simulation, offering new insights in the nuanced interplay of memory systems in creative thought.

Temperature-Based Crossmodal Correspondences: Causes and Consequences.

The last few years have seen an explosive growth of research interest in the crossmodal correspondences, the sometimes surprising associations that people experience between stimuli, attributes, or perceptual dimensions, such as between auditory pitch and visual size, or elevation. To date, the majority of this research has tended to focus on audiovisual correspondences. However, a variety of crossmodal correspondences have also been demonstrated with tactile stimuli, involving everything from felt shape to texture, and from weight through to temperature. In this review, I take a closer look at temperature-based correspondences. The empirical research not only supports the existence of robust crossmodal correspondences between temperature and colour (as captured by everyday phrases such as 'red hot') but also between temperature and auditory pitch. Importantly, such correspondences have (on occasion) been shown to influence everything from our thermal comfort in coloured environments through to our response to the thermal and chemical warmth associated with stimulation of the chemical senses, as when eating, drinking, and sniffing olfactory stimuli. Temperature-based correspondences are considered in terms of the four main classes of correspondence that have been identified to date, namely statistical, structural, semantic, and affective. The hope is that gaining a better understanding of temperature-based crossmodal correspondences may one day also potentially help in the design of more intuitive sensory-substitution devices, and support the delivery of immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences.

Assessing the Role of Emotional Mediation in Explaining Crossmodal Correspondences Involving Musical Stimuli.

A wide variety of crossmodal correspondences, defined as the often surprising connections that people appear to experience between simple features, attributes, or dimensions of experience, either physically present or else merely imagined, in different sensory modalities, have been demonstrated in recent years. However, a number of crossmodal correspondences have also been documented between more complex (i.e., multi-component) stimuli, such as, for example, pieces of music and paintings. In this review, the extensive evidence supporting the emotional mediation account of the crossmodal correspondences between musical stimuli (mostly pre-recorded short classical music excerpts) and visual stimuli, including colour patches through to, on occasion, paintings, is critically evaluated. According to the emotional mediation account, it is the emotional associations that people have with stimuli that constitutes one of the fundamental bases on which crossmodal associations are established. Taken together, the literature that has been published to date supports emotional mediation as one of the key factors underlying the crossmodal correspondences involving emotionally-valenced stimuli, both simple and complex.

Innovations for integrated care: The Association of Medicine and Psychiatry recognizes new models.

This editorial looks at the current state of the integration of medicine and psychiatry in clinical practice. We note selected recent triumphs and barriers to implementing integrated care, highlighting some gaps and priorities for future innovations. In contrast to the relatively more orderly culture of health services research, where some notable innovations in integrated care were funded, tested, and published, the health care marketplace can be a difficult place to identify and track the innovations that could shape health care reform. Recognizing the need to find, describe, and disseminate the most innovative models in integrated care, the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry (AMP) launched in 2016 the Innovative Models for Integrated Care Awards. Although many service innovations solve local problems, some can also act as models to be adopted in multiple settings. The projects that win AMP Innovative Models for Integrated Care Awards are selected for their innovativeness, their clinical importance, their generalizability, and their effectiveness. We briefly describe here the four models that earned these awards at the 2017 AMP Annual Meeting. They demonstrate innovations across a range of settings and populations: inpatient general hospital patients under constant observation in New York, severely mentally ill patients in a federally qualified health center in San Francisco, outpatients in a VA women's health center in Chicago, and HIV patients in an academic infectious disease clinic in Charleston, south Carolina. These model descriptions aim to encourage the implementation of innovative models that advance the integration of medicine and psychiatry.

Behavioral Experimental Paradigms for the Evaluation of Drug's Influence on Cognitive Functions: Interpretation of Associative, Spatial/Nonspatial and Working Memory.

BACKGROUND: Currently, a large number of people throughout the world are affected by neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease which appear with a lapse in recall, attention and altered cognitive functions. Learning and memory, the fundamental indices defining cognitive functions, are the complex psychological processes governing acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval of stored information. These processes are synchronized by the coordination of various parts of the brain including hippocampus, striatum and amygdala. OBJECTIVE: The present review is centered on different behavioral paradigms in rodents interpreting learning and memory both explicitly and implicitly. Furthermore, it is also emphasizing on the interaction of various brain structures during different stages of associative, spatial and non-spatial memory. METHODS: We embarked on an objective review of literature relevant to screening methods for evaluation of drug's influence on a wide range of cognitive functions (learning and memory) as well as the underlying mechanism responsible for modulation of these functions. RESULTS: Our review highlighted the behavioral paradigms based on associative, spatial/nonspatial and working memory. The cited research acknowledged the hippocampal and striatal control on learning and memory. CONCLUSION: Since the neurodegenerative disorders and dementia have continuously been increasing, a wide range of therapeutic targets have been developed at the cellular and molecular level. This arises the necessity of screening of these targets in different cognitive behavioral paradigms which reflect their memory enhancing potential. The understanding of behavioral models and the involvement of brain structures in cognitive functions highlighted in the present review might be helpful to advance therapeutic interventions.

Efeitos da andiroba associada ao microagulhamento na pele de ratos / Effects of Carapa guyanensis associated to microneedling in mice skin

Introdução: O microagulhamento é uma técnica utilizada para o tratamento de cicatrizes e apresenta cada vez mais destaque na Dermatologia. Nesse contexto, em associação com o microagulhamento, drogas e ativos podem ser administrados por meio da técnica conhecida como drug delivery. Destaca-se o uso da vitamina C, por sua já comprovada ação antioxidante. Outro exemplo é a andiroba (Carapa guianensis Aubl.), por suas propriedades anti-inflamatória, analgésica, antisséptica e cicatrizante. Objetivo: Avaliar os efeitos da andiroba associada ao microagulhamento. Métodos: Foram utilizados 31 ratos machos distribuídos em cinco grupos: GPi (piloto), com três animais; GM (microagulhamento); GMA (microagulhamento + andiroba); GMV (microagulhamento + vitamina C); e GOM (microagulhamento + óleo mineral), com sete animais em cada grupo. Os animais foram submetidos à técnica do microagulhamento no D0 (dia 0) e à aplicação da substância do seu respectivo grupo, na pele, pela manhã, durante sete dias. Resultados: Houve diferença significativa entre a intensidade de proliferação fibroblástica e a vascularização observadas no tecido dos animais dos grupos GM e GMV. Já a intensidade de fibras colágenas foi superior nos animais do grupo GMV. Conclusões: O óleo de andiroba como drug delivery obteve resultados inferiores à vitamina C.

Introduction: Microneedling is a technique used to treat scars with increasing popularity in dermatology. In this context, associated to micro-needling, drugs and active substances can be administered through the technique known as drug delivery. We highlight the use of vitamin C, due to its known antioxidant properties. Another example is Carapa guianensis Aubl., due to its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiseptic and healing properties. Objective: To evaluate the effects of Carapa guyanensis associated to microneedling. Methods: Thirty-one male mice, distributed into five groups, were used: GPi (pilot), with three animals; GM (micro-needling); GMA (micro-needling + Carapa guyanensis); GMV (microneedling + vitamin C); and GOM (microneedling + mineral oil), with seven animals in each group. The animals were submitted to the microneedling technique on D0 (day 0) and to the application of the substance of its respective group in the skin, in the morning for seven days. Results: There was a significant difference between the expression of fibroblast proliferation and vascularization observed in the tissue of animals in groups GM and GMV. The expression of collagen fibers was superior in animals in the GMV group. Conclusions: Carapa guyanensis oil had inferior results as drug delivery when compared to vitamin C.

Tratamento de melasma facial com associação do microagulhamento robótico e drug delivery de ácido tranexâmico / Treatment of facial melasma with robotic microneedling associated to drug delivery of tranexamic acid

Introdução: A despeito de todo arsenal terapêutico existente, o melasma continua sendo um desafio dermatológico. A busca de novas modalidades de tratamento visa otimizar resultados e minimizar efeitos colateriais sistêmicos. Objetivo: Avaliar a melhora clínica de pacientes com melasma tratados com microagulhamento robótico associado a drug delivery de ácido tranexâmico. Material e Métodos: Foram selecionadas 17 mulheres com melasma para tratamento durante oito semanas com quatro sessões quinzenais de microagulhamento robótico associado ao drug delivery de 1ml de ácido tranexâmico 4mg/ml. Antes e após o tratamento, o grupo foi avaliado sob os seguintes parâmetros: evolução fotográfica avaliada por três examinadores, autoavaliação através do Melasma Quol e evolução do Masi. Resultados: 15 pacientes de fototipos de Fitzpatrick de II a VI completaram o estudo. Delas, 31,11% apresentaram pouca ou nenhuma melhora; 24,45% melhora moderada a intermediária; 33,33% melhora importante, e 11,11% melhora próxima à resolução. Em relação ao Masi, houve melhora significativa, com redução de 21,33% para 11,19%. Conclusões: A associação proposta apresentou resultados satisfatórios, configurando- -se em modalidade terapêutica inovadora, reproduzível e segura para o tratamento do melasma.

Introduction: Despite all the existing therapeutic tools, melasma continues to be a dermatological challenge. Therefore, the search for new treatment modalities aims to optimize results and reduce systemic side effects. Objective: Evaluate the clinical improvement of patients with melasma treated with robotic microneedling associated to drug delivery of tranexamic acid. Material and Methods: Seventeen women with melasma were selected to be treated during eight weeks with four fortnightly sessions of robotic microneedling associated to drug delivery of 1.0ml of 4mg/ml tranexamic acid. The group was evaluated before and after the treatment with the following parameters: photographic evolution evaluated by three examiners, self-evaluation with Melasma QoL and MASI improvement. Results: Fifteen Fitzpatrick phototype II to VI patients completed the study. Of those, 31.11% showed little or no improvement; 24.45% moderate to intermediate improvement; 33.33% significant improvement and 11.11% improved almost to resolution. In regards to MASI, there was a significant improvement, with a reduction from 21.33% to 11.19%. Conclusions: The proposed association showed satisfactory results, constituting an innovative, replicable and safe therapeutic modality for the treatment of melasma.

Combinação de terapêuticas para cicatrizes: lasers fracionados associados ao microagulhamento e drug delivery / Therapeutic combinations for scars: fractional lasers associated to microneedling and drug delivery

Introdução: O tratamento de cicatrizes hipertróficas inestéticas secundárias a cirurgias na região torácica é desafiador, principalmente se estiverem associadas a estrias distensas. Certamente, mais de uma terapêutica deverá ser empregada, demandando longo tempo de tratamento. Objetivos: Avaliar o efeito da associação de lasers fracionados ablativos e não ablativos, microagulhamento e drug delivery no manejo de cicatrizes hipertróficas e estrias distensas. Métodos: Paciente apresentando cicatrizes hipertróficas e estrias na região torácica anterior foi submetido a quatro sessões, em intervalo mensal, com lasers fracionados ablativo e não ablativo associados ao microagulhamento e ao drug delivery. Resultados: Ao final do protocolo de tratamento, o paciente apresentou melhora da mobilidade das áreas tratadas, da qualidade da pele e das estrias distensas da região tratada. Conclusões: O tratamento associado demonstrou ser possível abordar lesões cicatriciais atróficas e hipertróficas concomitantemente, com bons resultados.

Introduction: The treatment of unsightly hypertrophic scars secondary to surgeries in the thoracic region area challenging, particularly if associated to striae distensae. Surely, more than one therapy should be used, which will demand a long treatment time. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of the association of fractional ablative and non-ablative lasers, microneedling and drug delivery in the management of hypertrophic scarring and striae distensae. Methods: Patient showing hypertrophic scars and striae on the anterior thoracic region was submitted to four monthly sessions of fractional ablative and non-ablative lasers, associated to microneedling and drug delivery. Results: At the end of the treatment protocol, the patient had improved mobility of the treated areas, quality of the skin and striae distensae in the treated region. Conclusions: The associated treatment showed good results in the concurrent management of atrophic and hypertrophic scars.

Electrical stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex impairs semantic cognition.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the prefrontal cortical structures causally involved in verbal and nonverbal semantic cognition in both cerebral hemispheres. METHODS: We retrospectively screened the intraoperative brain mapping data of 584 patients who underwent neurosurgery for neoplastic tumor under local anesthesia with direct cortical electrostimulation. Patients were included if they were right-handed, recently diagnosed with a diffuse low-grade glioma, and had a positive language mapping for verbal (naming task) and nonverbal (visual semantic association task) semantic cognition in the prefrontal cortex (n = 49). Among these, 30 were tested intraoperatively with both the naming and the semantic association tasks, while 19 were tested with the naming task only. Subsequently, each semantic site (n = 85) was plotted individually onto a common stereotaxic space for detailed analyses. RESULTS: The cortical sites associated with verbal semantic disturbances (n = 45) were distributed in the pars opercularis (n = 14) and pars triangularis (n = 19) of the left inferior frontal gyrus, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC, n = 12); only 2 sites were observed in the right dlPFC. In contrast, all but one cortical site associated with nonverbal semantic disturbances were observed in the left dorsolateral cortex (n = 8). In the right hemisphere, the same disturbances were found in the dlPFC (n = 14) and pars opercularis (n = 2). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated the critical role of the dlPFC in the semantic network, and indicated its specific and bilateral involvement in nonverbal semantic cognition in right-handers.

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) enhances divergent thinking.

Creativity is one of the most important cognitive skills in our complex and fast-changing world. Previous correlative evidence showed that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is involved in divergent but not convergent thinking. In the current study, a placebo/sham-controlled, randomized between-group design was used to test a causal relation between vagus nerve and creativity. We employed transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), a novel non-invasive brain stimulation technique to stimulate afferent fibers of the vagus nerve and speculated to increase GABA levels, in 80 healthy young volunteers. Creative performance was assessed in terms of divergent thinking (Alternate Uses Task) and convergent thinking tasks (Remote Associates Test, Creative Problem Solving Task, Idea Selection Task). Results demonstrate active tVNS, compared to sham stimulation, enhanced divergent thinking. Bayesian analysis reported the data to be inconclusive regarding a possible effect of tVNS on convergent thinking. Therefore, our findings corroborate the idea that the vagus nerve is causally involved in creative performance. Even thought we did not directly measure GABA levels, our results suggest that GABA (likely to be increased in active tVNS condition) supports the ability to select among competing options in high selection demand (divergent thinking) but not in low selection demand (convergent thinking).

Eliminating age differences in children's and adults' suggestibility and memory conformity effects.

We examined whether typical developmental trends in suggestion-induced false memories (i.e., age-related decrease) could be changed. Using theoretical principles from the spontaneous false memory field, we adapted 2 often-used false memory procedures: misinformation (Experiment 1) and memory conformity (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, 7- to 9-year-old children (n = 33) and adults (n = 39) received stories containing associatively related details. They then listened to misinformation in the form of short narratives preserving the meaning of the story. Children and adults were equally susceptible to the misinformation effect. In Experiment 2, younger (7- to 8-year-olds, n = 30) and older (11- to 12-year-olds, n = 30) children and adults (n = 30) viewed pictures containing associatively related details. They viewed these pictures in pairs. Although the pictures differed, participants believed they had viewed the same pictures. Participants had to report what they could recollect during collaborative and individual recall tests. Children and adults were equally susceptible to memory conformity effects. When correcting for response bias, adults' false memory scores were even higher than children's. Our results show that age trends in suggestion-induced false memories are not developmentally invariant. (PsycINFO Database Record

Name that percussive tune: Associative memory and amplitude envelope.

A series of experiments demonstrated novel effects of amplitude envelope on associative memory, with tones exhibiting naturally decaying amplitude envelopes (e.g., those made by two wine glasses clinking) better associated with target objects than amplitude-invariant tones. In Experiment 1 participants learned associations between household objects and 4-note tone sequences constructed of spectrally matched pure tones with either "flat" or "percussive" amplitude envelopes. Those hearing percussive tones correctly recalled significantly more sequence-object associations. Experiment 2 demonstrated that participants hearing percussive tones learned the associations more quickly. Experiment 3 used "reverse percussive" tones (percussive tones played backwards) to test whether differences in overall energy might account for this effect, finding they did not lead to the same level of performance as percussive tones. Experiment 4 varied the envelope at encoding and retrieval to determine which stage of the task was most affected by the envelope manipulation. Participants hearing percussive tones at both encoding and retrieval performed significantly better than the other three groups (i.e., flat at encoding/percussive at retrieval, etc.). We conclude that amplitude envelope plays an important role in learning and memory, a finding with relevance to psychological research on audition and associative memory, as well as practical relevance for improving human-computer interface design.

Adults' implicit associations to infant positive and negative acoustic cues: Moderation by empathy and gender.

In this study a novel auditory version of the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT-A) was developed to investigate (a) the valence of adults' associations to infant cries and laughs, (b) moderation of implicit associations by gender and empathy, and (c) the robustness of implicit associations controlling for auditory sensitivity. Eighty adults (50% females) were administered two SC-IAT-As, the Empathy Quotient, and the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale. Adults showed positive implicit associations to infant laugh and negative ones to infant cry; only the implicit associations with the infant laugh were negatively related to empathy scores, and no gender differences were observed. Finally, implicit associations to infant cry were affected by noise sensitivity. The SC-IAT-A is useful to evaluate the valence of implicit reactions to infant auditory cues and could provide fresh insights into understanding processes that regulate the quality of adult-infant relationships.

Learning and retrieving holistic and componential visual-verbal associations in reading and object naming.

Understanding the neural processes that underlie learning to read can provide a scientific foundation for literacy education but studying these processes in real-world contexts remains challenging. We present behavioural data from adult participants learning to read artificial words and name artificial objects over two days. Learning profiles and generalisation confirmed that componential learning of visual-verbal associations distinguishes reading from object naming. Functional MRI data collected on the second day allowed us to identify the neural systems that support componential reading as distinct from systems supporting holistic visual-verbal associations in object naming. Results showed increased activation in posterior ventral occipitotemporal (vOT), parietal, and frontal cortices when reading an artificial orthography compared to naming artificial objects, and the reverse profile in anterior vOT regions. However, activation differences between trained and untrained words were absent, suggesting a lack of cortical representations for whole words. Despite this, hippocampal responses provided some evidence for overnight consolidation of both words and objects learned on day 1. The comparison between neural activity for artificial words and objects showed extensive overlap with systems differentially engaged for real object naming and English word/pseudoword reading in the same participants. These findings therefore provide evidence that artificial learning paradigms offer an alternative method for studying the neural systems supporting language and literacy. Implications for literacy acquisition are discussed.

Naturally Biased Associations Between Music and Poetry.

The study analyzes the existence of naturally biased associations in the general population between a series of musical selections and a series of quatrains. Differently from other studies in the field, the association is tested between complex stimuli involving literary texts, which increases the load of the semantic factors. The stimuli were eight quatrains taken from the same poem and eight musical clips taken from a classical musical version of the poem. The experiment was conducted in two phases. First, the participants were asked to rate 10 couples of opposite adjectives on a continuous bipolar scale when reading a quatrain or when listening to a musical clip; then they were asked to associate a given clip directly with the quatrains in decreasing order. The results showed the existence of significant associations between the semantics of the quatrains and the musical selections. They also confirmed the correspondences experienced by the composer when writing the musical version of the poem. Connotative dimensions such as rough or smooth, distressing or serene, turbid or clear, and gloomy or bright, characterizing both the semantic and the auditory stimuli, may have played a role in the associations. The results also shed light on the accomplishment of the two diverse methodologies adopted in the two different phases of the test. Finally, the role of specific musical components and their combinations is likely to have played an important role in the associations, an aspect that shall be addressed in further studies.

Lifetime Trauma, Praying for Others, and C-Reactive Protein.

Research indicates that praying for others may offset the effects of stress on self-rated health and psychological well-being. The purpose of the current study is to extend this literature by seeing whether praying for others moderates the effects of exposure to lifetime trauma on a key marker of inflammation: C-reactive protein. The data come from a recent nationwide survey of adults of all ages (N = 1,589). Levels of C-reactive protein were obtained from assays of blood spots drawn from a capillary fingerstick. The findings suggest that the magnitude of the relationship between lifetime trauma and C-reactive protein is completely offset for study participants who frequently pray for others. The theoretical implications of this research are discussed.

Word Imageability Enhances Association-memory by Increasing Hippocampal Engagement.

The hippocampus is thought to support association-memory, particularly when tested with cued recall. One of the most well-known and studied factors that influences accuracy of verbal association-memory is imageability; participants remember pairs of high-imageability words better than pairs of low-imageability words. High-imageability words are also remembered better in tests of item-memory. However, we previously found that item-memory effects could not explain the enhancement in cued recall, suggesting that imageability enhances association-memory strength. Here we report an fMRI study designed to ask, what is the role of the hippocampus in the memory advantage for associations due to imageability? We tested two alternative hypotheses: (1) Recruitment Hypothesis: High-imageability pairs are remembered better because they recruit the underlying hippocampal association-memory function more effectively. Alternatively, (2) Bypassing Hypothesis: Imageability functions by making the association-forming process easier, enhancing memory in a way that bypasses the hippocampus, as has been found, for example, with explicit unitization imagery strategies. Results found, first, hippocampal BOLD signal was greater during study and recall of high- than low-imageability word pairs. Second, the difference in activity between recalled and forgotten pairs showed a main effect, but no significant interaction with imageability, challenging the bypassing hypothesis, but consistent with the predictions derived from the recruitment hypothesis. Our findings suggest that certain stimulus properties, like imageability, may leverage, rather than avoid, the associative function of the hippocampus to support superior association-memory.