The effects of prosody and referent characteristics on novel noun learning in children.

Prosody is how words are spoken, often affecting the messages we convey. When prosody is relevant to the meaning, word learning is enhanced; however, it is unknown whether children attend to prosody that is not relevant to a word learning task (e.g.

Contextual Factors Affecting Risky Decision Making: The Influence of Music on Task Performance and Perceived Distraction.

Previous research has investigated factors that contribute to the development of different risk-taking behaviors, such as can occur on lab-based behavioral risky decision making tasks. On several of the most common tasks, participants must develop an adequate understanding of the relative risks and benefits associated with each decision in order to learn to decide advantageously. However, contextual factors can affect the decision making process and one's ability to weigh the risks and benefits of a decision.

Manipulating the decision making process: Influencing a "gut" reaction.

The present series of studies sought to examine how external factors influence behavioral decision making task performance. Utilizing the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to assess risky decision making, we examined the influence of a dual task paradigm (Study 1, Study 2), shifting task focus to decision making speed versus accuracy (Study 3), and varied intertrial intervals (Study 4). College student participants completed the IGT and decision making speed and the patterns of IGT selections by deck in the earlier (decision making under ambiguity) and later (decision making under risk) trials were examined.

Music lessons are associated with increased verbal memory in individuals with Williams syndrome.

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder characterized by intellectual delay and an affinity for music. It has been previously shown that familiar music can enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS who have had music training. There is also evidence that unfamiliar, or novel, music may also improve cognitive recall.

Beyond words: comprehension and production of pragmatic prosody in adults and children.

Prosody includes suprasegmental components of speech, such as intonation and rate, which add meaning beyond the words being spoken. Sensitivity to pragmatic prosody could improve communication within conversations. These studies investigated adults' and preschoolers' sensitivity to pragmatic prosody.

Effect of musical experience on verbal memory in Williams syndrome: evidence from a novel word learning task.

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder characterized by an increased affinity for music, deficits in verbal memory, and atypical brain development. Music has been shown to improve verbal memory in typical individuals as well as those with learning difficulties, but no studies have examined this relationship in WS. The aim of our two studies was to examine whether music can enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS.

Speech priming: an examination of rate and syntactic persistence in preschoolers.

Interactional coordination is important for conversational competence. For example, the syntactic form and rate of perceived speech can influence future productions in adults. Previous work has shown that children are similarly primed by syntax.

Effects of age, gender, and causality on perceptions of persons with mental retardation.

The present study examined the effects of age, gender, and causality on the perceptions of persons with mental retardation. Participants rated individuals with mental retardation using a semantic differential scale with three factors: activity, evaluation, and potency. Target individuals in each scenario varied on the variables of age (8, 20, 45), gender (male, female), and causality of mental retardation (genetic, self-inflicted, inflicted by others).

Speed, accuracy, and serial order in sequence production.

The production of complex sequences like music or speech requires the rapid and temporally precise production of events (e.g., notes and chords), often at fast rates.

College students' perceptions of persons with intellectual disability at three different ages.

Studies of the perception of persons with intellectual disabilities have primarily focused on the evaluator's peers without specific reference to age or gender of the target person with intellectual disability. Using the semantic differential technique (assessments based on three independent factors: evaluation, activity and potency), 320 college students evaluated 1 person with intellectual disability, where gender (male, female) and age (3, 12, 20 years) were specified. Results indicated statistically different perceptions in the activity factor by age.

Comparison of the effects of a cardioselective and a nonselective beta-blocker on portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis.

The effects on cardiac output and portal venous pressure of atenolol, a cardioselective beta-blocker, and propranolol, a nonselective beta-blocker, were compared in patients with portal hypertension due to cirrhosis. One hour after p.o.