The neuropsychology of false memory

This article reviews recent research into the neuropsychology of false memory as revealed by studies of individuals who have suffered lesions to the frontal lobes. It is shown that frontal lobe damage gives rise to confabulation along with a number of laboratory-based demonstrations of memory error including source amnesia and impaired metamemory. It is further shown that frontal lobe damage gives rise to a disorder known as pathological false recognition in which patients produce large numbers of false alarms during recognition testing. It is argued that the most plausible account of these various findings is that frontal lobe damage serves to prevent the creation of an appropriate and properly focused retrieval context which may arise because either retrieval or encoding factors have been compromised.     

Development of Preterm and Full-Term Infant Ability on AB, Recall Memory, Transparent Barrier Detour, and Means-End Tasks

10 preterm and 10 full-term infants were tested longitudinally from 28 to 60 weeks of age on a modified version of the AB task, a nonreaching AB task, a Barrier Detour task, a Means-End task, and Perseveration in the Means-End task. Results show that age-corrected (age since conception) premature infants tolerated longer delays than full-term infants on the modified and nonreaching AB tasks. However, when compared by chronological age (age since birth), there were no group differences on either the reaching or nonreaching AB task. No group differences were found on Barrier Detour, Means-End, or Perseveration in either the age-corrected or chronological age comparisons. The results suggest that the function that mediates modified AB performance is one of memory and not of perseveration or means-end ability. Further, these findings suggest that current proposals about brain development based on single samples of infants may be tenuous. Finally, the results of this study suggest that development of the brain structure(s) that mediate modified AB performance is strongly influenced by experience in the postnatal environment.     

Mnemonic precedence in amnesic patients: an analogue of the AB error in infants?

Amnesic patients were able to retrieve an object hidden at an initial location after a brief delay, but subsequently failed to retrieve an object at a new location, and instead searched for it at the old place. This phenomenon, which we call mnemonic precedence, resembles the AB error that has been observed in 8-10-month-old infants. The parallel performance of amnesics and infants on object search tasks is consistent with the hypothesis that memory deficit, rather than defective object concept, plays a major role in the AB error. The influence of memory processes on tests of symbolic representation is discussed.     

Are A-not-B errors caused by a belief about object location?

Eight- to 12-month-olds might make A-not-B errors, knowing the object is in B but searching at A because of ancillary (attention, inhibitory, or motor memory) deficits, or they might genuinely believe the object is in A (conceptual deficit). This study examined how diligently infants searched for a hidden object they never found. An object was placed in A twice, and then in B. In a different task the object was placed beside A twice, and then in B. Infants made more A-not-B errors in the former task, and perseverating infants searched diligently in A rather than in B. Infants seemed to believe the object was in A, suggesting that both a conceptual deficit and ancillary deficits account for A-not-B errors.     

The Relations between Frontal Brain Electrical Activity and Cognitive Development during Infancy

The relations between changes in the scalp-recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) and the development of the ability to perform successfully 2 cognitive tasks attributed to frontal lobe functioning were examined in 13 infants from 7 to 12 months of age. Infants successful in performing the A-not-B task with increasingly longer delays across the second half of the first year of life showed changes in power in scalp-recorded brain electrical activity in the frontal region and an increase in anterior/posterior EEG coherence. Infants with rapid mastery of object retrieval did not differ in frontal EEG development from infants who exhibited the normal developmental progression in object retrieval performance. In a task examining inhibition of reaching to a novel toy, there were no differences in frontal EEG as a function of performance. Results from a cross-sectional sample revealed similar findings. These data confirm work with nonhuman primates on the importance of maturation of frontal cortex in the successful performance on certain tasks (A-not-B), but do not confirm nonhuman primate data on the importance of frontal cortex for other tasks (object retrieval). The data also suggest that the electroencephalogram may be useful as a noninvasive measure of central nervous system development during the first year of life.     

前瞻记忆的影响因素

前瞻记忆是对预定事件或行为的记忆,是一种指向来来活动的记忆。最近二十年来,前瞻记忆一直是认知心理学研究的前沿和热点问题之一,其影响因素一直是研究者关注的重要方面。研究者主要从年龄因素、靶线索特征、进行中任务与前瞻记忆任务的匹配性、延时间隔等方面对前瞻记忆影响因素进行了研究。但是由于前瞻记忆加工过程的复杂性以及研究设计等的不同,研究结果并不一致。     

Note on Sources of Sampling Variability in Science Performance Assessments

In 1993, we reported in Journal of Educational Measurement that task-sampling variability was the Achilles' heel of science performance assessment. To reduce measurement error, tasks needed to be stratified before sampling, sampled in large number, or possibly both. However, Cronbach, Linn, Brennan, & Haertel (1997) pointed out that a task-sampling interpretation of a large person x task variance component might be incorrect. Task and occasion sampling are confounded because tasks are typically given on only a single occasion. The person x task source of measurement error is then confounded with the pt x occasion source. If pto variability accounts for a substantial part of the commonly observed pt interaction, stratifying tasks into homogenous subsets—a cost-effective way of addressing task sampling variability—might not increase accuracy. Stratification would not address the pro source of error. Another conclusion reported in JEM was that only direct observation (DO) and notebook (NB) methods of collecting performance assessment data were exchangeable; computer simulation, short-answer, and multiple-choice methods were not. However, if Cronbach et al. were right, our exchangeability conclusion might be incorrect. After re-examining and re-analyzing data, we found support for Conbach et al. We concluded that large task-sampling variability was due to both the person x task interaction and person x task x occasion interaction. Moreover, we found that direct observation, notebook and computer simulation methods were equally exchangeable, but their exchangeability was limited by the volatility of student performances across tasks and occasions.     

BCC合金相稳定性的嵌入原子模型计算

利用作者最近导出的解析的ｂｃｃ结构的嵌入原子模型计算了由Ｖ、Ｎｂ、Ｔａ、Ｃｒ、Ｍｏ、Ｗ和Ｆｅ等７个ｂｃｃ结构元素组成的２１个合金系统的中间化合物Ａ＿３Ｂ、ＡＢ、ＡＢ＿３结构的形成焓，计算得到的形成焓跟Ｗａｔｓｏｎ等人用经验能带理论得到的结果、Ｃｏｌｉｎｅｔ等人用集团方法得到的结果、Ｍｉｅｄｅｍａ等人用经验热力学理论（Ｍｉｅｄｅｍａ理论）得到的结果、以及已有的实验结果符合得比较好．     

Intermanual transfer of shapes in preterm human infants from 33 to 34 + 6 weeks postconceptional age

This study investigated the ability of preterm infants to learn an object shape with one hand and discriminate a new shape in the opposite hand (without visual control). Twenty-four preterm infants between 33 and 34 + 6 gestational weeks received a tactile habituation task with either their right or left hand followed by a tactile discrimination task in the opposite hand. The results confirmed that habituation occurred for both shapes and both hands. Infants subsequently held the novel shape longer in the opposite hand. The results reveal that preterm infants are capable of intermanual transfer of shape information. In spite of the immaturity of the corpus callosum in preterm infants, its development seems to be sufficient to allow some transfer of information between both hands.     

前瞻记忆的生理机制研究综述

从认知神经科学研究、神经心理学研究以及年老相关差异研究三个方面对前瞻记忆的生理机制研究进行综述。大部分研究表明,前瞻记忆的生理基础和前额叶以及丘脑、颞叶的功能有关。文章还对今后研究方向做了展望。     

Back to Basics: A Bilingual Advantage in Infant Visual Habituation

Comparisons of cognitive processing in monolinguals and bilinguals have revealed a bilingual advantage in inhibitory control. Recent studies have demonstrated advantages associated with exposure to two languages in infancy. However, the domain specificity and scope of the infant bilingual advantage in infancy remains unclear. In the present study, 114 monolingual and bilingual infants were compared in a very basic task of information processing—visual habituation—at 6 months of age. Bilingual infants demonstrated greater efficiency in stimulus encoding as well as in improved recognition memory for familiar stimuli as compared to monolinguals. Findings reveal a generalized cognitive advantage in bilingual infants that is broad in scope, early to emerge, and not specific to language.     

The neurology of traumatic "dissociative" amnesia: commentary and literature review.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between traumatic emotional stress, hippocampal injury, memory loss, and traumatic ("dissociative") amnesia was examined. METHOD: A survey of the research on emotional trauma, learning, memory loss, glucocosteroid stress hormones, and the hippocampus was conducted, and animal and human studies were reviewed. RESULTS: It is well documented and has been experimentally demonstrated in animals and humans that prolonged and high levels of stress, fear, and arousal commonly induce learning deficits and memory loss ranging from the minimal to the profound. As stress and arousal levels dramatically increase, learning and memory deteriorate in accordance with the classic inverse U-shaped curve. These memory deficits are due to disturbances in hippocampal activation and arousal, and the corticosteroid secretion which can suppress neural activity associated with learning and memory and induce hippocampal atrophy. Risk and predisposing factors include a history of previous emotional trauma or neurological injury involving the temporal lobe and hippocampus, the repetitive and prolonged nature of the trauma, and age and individual differences in baseline arousal and level of cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: Although some victims may be unable to forget, amnesia or partial memory loss is not uncommon following severe stress and emotional trauma. Even well publicized national traumas may induce significant forgetting. Memory loss is a consequence of glucocosteroids and stress-induced disturbances involving the hippocampus, a structure which normally plays an important role in the storage of various events in long-term memory.     

Development of the ability to use recall to guide action, as indicated by infants' performance on AB

25 infants were tested every 2 weeks on the AB Object Permanence Task devised by Piaget, from the age when they first reached for a hidden object until they were 12 months. The delay between hiding and retrieval necessary to produce the AB error increased continuously throughout this period at an average rate of 2 sec/month, from under 2 sec at 7 1/2 months to over 10 sec by 12 months. All children displayed the AB error repeatedly over the months of testing. Large between-children differences in delay needed for the AB error were found at each age. Girls tolerated longer delays than boys. The characteristic pattern to the AB error did not vary over age or sex. Range of delay producing the AB error in any child was small. Errors disappeared when delays were reduced by 2-3 sec, and reaching became random or severely perseverative when delays were increased 2-3 sec above the level producing AB error. AB provides an index of the ability to carry out an intention based on stored information despite a conflicting habitual tendency.     

"When I Was Little": Childhood Recollections in Chinese and European Canadian Grade School Children

Recollection of early childhood experiences was investigated in 225 European Canadian and 133 Chinese children (ages 8, 11, and 14) by a memory fluency task that measured accessibility of multiple early memories and elicited the earliest memory. Younger children provided memories of events that occurred at earlier ages than older children. Furthermore, Canadian children produced more memories and had an earlier age of first memory than did Chinese children, with cultural differences in both measures increasing with age. It appears that while adultlike childhood amnesia is still emerging among Canadian children, Chinese children by age 14 already resemble adults. Content of Canadian versus Chinese children's memories reflected an autonomous versus relational self-construal. Results are discussed in terms of sociocultural influences on memory.     

More power to them--statistically, that is: a commentary on Studdert-Kennedy, Mody, and Brady's criticism of a critique

The power analysis discussed above establishes that it was most unlikely that Mody et al. (1997) could make a meaningful test of the Tallal hypothesis because of inadequate n and failure to specify the effect size. Note that this is a best-case scenario, because the power analysis assumes that the analysis of variance assumptions were within reasonable boundaries (e.g., as specified by Norton's study). This was clearly not the case. In summary, the Mody et al. study fails to meet minimal scientific criteria and makes no meaningful contribution to the literature.     

Science centers and outdoor education centers provide valuable experience for pre-service teachers

Conclusion It is recognised that data from self-reporting and interviews alone cannot be regarded as conclusive, and that the findings have to be treated with some degree of caution. Nevertheless, it appears that the experiences of pre-service teachers led to an increased desire to instruct children in hands-on science. The findings from the science center support the conclusions of Diamond et al (1987) who suggested that relatively short-term programs at science centers, may be successful in stimulating self-confidence, communication abilities and interest in science. The self-reports and the interview data also suggest that it is likely that these gains will transfer to the classroom. It is vital that teacher educators continually make use of new strategies that help trainee teachers to become more competent and enthusiastic teachers of science. This innovation is one example that had significant outcomes for the pre-service teachers involved, and follow-up studies planned for 1994 should indicate if the outcomes were sustained.     

Retrograde amnesia for extinction: Similarities with amnesia for original acquisition memories

Two experiments were conducted using rats to determine whether extinction is susceptible to a traditional amnestic agent (i.e., hypothermia) and to examine whether amnesia for extinction follows the same characteristics as those that occur with original memories. In Experiment 1, rats received hypothermia immediately, 60 min, or 120 min after extinction. When tested, the subjects cooled shortly after extinction showed little memory of the extinction training. This amnesia for extinction disappeared with longer postextinction delays, demonstrating a temporal gradient. Experiment 2 replicated the basic finding and demonstrated that an amnestic-extinguished memory could be recovered by reexposing the subjects to the amnestic agent and that the recovered extinction memory did not persist. These findings provide more evidence that extinction is a form of new learning and are consistent with retrograde amnesia research for original memories showing a temporal gradient and alleviation of retrograde amnesia by reexposure to the amnestic agent.     

The Organization of Reactivated Memory in Infancy

The specificity of memory retrieval by 3-month-old infants was examined in 3 experiments. All infants were trained in the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm to kick their feet to produce movement in an overhead crib mobile and were tested 2 weeks later. 24 hours prior to the test, subjects received a 3-min reminder treatment. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that only the moving training mobile alleviated forgetting after the 2-week retention interval; forgetting was not alleviated by exposure to the stationary training mobile or to the mobile stands and ribbon alone. The results of Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that, once retrieved, the reactivated memory was highly specific to the conditions of original training. Furthermore, the memory attributes that were the last to be forgotten (e.g., the general or global features) were the first to be retrieved following the reminder treatment. Conversely, those memory attributes that were forgotten first (e.g., the specific or local details) were the last to be retrieved. These findings have important implications for infant memory retrieval, reminiscence, and infantile amnesia.     

Age‐Related Changes in Spreading Activation During Infancy

The concept of spreading activation describes how retrieval of one memory cues retrieval of other memories that are associated with it. This study explored spreading activation in 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐month‐old infants. Infants (n = 144) learned two tasks within the same experimental session; one task, deferred imitation (DI), is typically remembered longer than the other task, visual recognition memory (VRM). At all ages, retrieval of the DI memory facilitated retrieval of the VRM memory, but the conditions under which this spreading activation occurred changed as a function of age. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the development of mnemonic networks during infancy and the value of studying infants for our understanding of memory more generally.     

婴幼儿基于概念的归纳推理研究

近年来,关于婴幼儿归纳推理能力的发展研究受到国际心理学界的重视,其中婴幼儿是否能够基于概念进行归纳推理是一个焦点问题。Mandler等人利用概括化模仿技术对婴儿的归纳推理进行了研究,发现:9-20个月的婴儿的归纳推理受到领域水平的概念类别所限制,是一个基于概念的过程;Gelman等人探讨了类别成员关系、语言标签、心理本质主义在幼儿的归纳推理中的作用,发现:2-4岁幼儿的归纳推理受基本水平的类别成员关系所限制,也是一个基于概念的过程。二者的分歧可以用语言的作用加以解释。