Effects of posttransfer feedback informativeness in a transitive inference task.

Transitive inference (TI), referring to one's ability to learn that if A > B and B > C, one can infer that A > C, is a form of serial learning that has been tested using a variety of experimental protocols. An element of most of these protocols is the presentation of some form of visual corrective feedback to help inform naïve participants about the nature of the task. Therefore, corrective feedback is often used as a critical tool for experimental TI.

Transitive inference in a clinical childhood sample with a focus on autism spectrum disorder.

Transitive inference (TI) has a long history in the study of human development. There have, however, few pediatric studies that report clinical diagnoses have tested trial-and-error TI learning, in which participants infer item relations, rather than evaluate them explicitly from verbal descriptions. Children aged 8-10 underwent a battery of clinical assessments and received a range of diagnoses, potentially including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders (AD), specific learning disorders (SLD), and/or communication disorders (CD).

Category learning in a transitive inference paradigm.

The implied order of a ranked set of visual images can be learned without reliance on information that explicitly signals their order. Such learning is difficult to explain by associative mechanisms, but can be accounted for by cognitive representations and processes such as transitive inference. Our study sought to determine if those processes also apply to learning categories of images.

Absolute and relative knowledge of ordinal position on implied lists.

Does serial learning result in specific associations between pairs of items, or does it result in a cognitive map based on relations of all items? In 2 experiments, we trained human participants to learn various lists of photographic images. We then tested the participants on new lists of photographic images. These new lists were constructed by selecting only 1 image from each list learned during training.

Inter- and intralimb adaptations to a sensory perturbation during activation of the serotonin system after a low spinal cord transection in neonatal rats.

Activation of the serotonin system has been shown to induce locomotor activity following a spinal cord transection. This study examines how the isolated spinal cord adapts to a sensory perturbation during activation of the serotonergic system. Real-time and persistent effects of a perturbation were examined in intact and spinal transected newborn rats.

Role of cortical reorganization on the effect of 5-HT pharmacotherapy for spinal cord injury.

Cortical reorganization or expansion of the intact cortical regions into the deafferented cortex after complete spinal transection in neonatally spinalized rats was shown to be essential for increases in weight-supported stepping at adulthood. The novel somatotopic organization identified in these animals can be induced by exercise or spinal transplants that bridge the site of injury. However, the role of cortical reorganization in increased weight-supported (WS) stepping after pharmacotherapy is unknown.

Fibroblast growth factor 8 organizes the neocortical area map and regulates sensory map topography.

The concept of an "organizer" is basic to embryology. An organizer is a portion of the embryo producing signals that lead to the creation of a patterned mature structure from an embryonic primordium. Fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8) is a morphogen that disperses from a rostromedial source in the neocortical primordium (NP), forms a rostral-to-caudal (R/C) gradient, and regulates embryonic and neonatal R/C patterns of gene expression in neocortex.

Acquired enophthalmos in lupus erythematosus profundus.

Lupus erythematosus profundus (LEP) is an uncommon subtype of lupus erythematosus. A 76-year old man presented with inflammation of the eyelids and underlying orbital soft tissue. A biopsy disclosed inflammation and atrophy of the orbital fat consistent with LEP.

Acquired pediatric blepharoptosis related to linear scleroderma.

Periocular linear scleroderma coup de sabre has been seen in association with blepharoptosis. The authors describe a 4-year-old girl who developed left blepharoptosis simultaneously with a remote scalp lesion consistent with linear scleroderma coup de sabre. This case is unique in that the scalp lesion was distant from the affected eye.

Exercise induces cortical plasticity after neonatal spinal cord injury in the rat.

Exercise-induced cortical plasticity is associated with improved functional outcome after brain or nerve injury. Exercise also improves functional outcomes after spinal cord injury, but its effects on cortical plasticity are not known. The goal of this investigation was to study the effect of moderate exercise (treadmill locomotion, 3 min/d, 5 d/week) on the somatotopic organization of forelimb and hindlimb somatosensory cortex (SI) after neonatal thoracic transection.

Role of the 5-HT2C receptor in improving weight-supported stepping in adult rats spinalized as neonates.

Loss of descending serotonergic (5-HT) projections after spinal cord injury (SCI) contributes to motor deficits and upregulation of receptors on partially denervated serotonergic targets in the spinal cord. Serotonergic agonists acting on these upregulated receptors are potential therapeutic agents that could ameliorate motor deficits. However, modification of 5-HT receptors following complete spinal cord injury results in different effects by 5-HT2C receptor agonists and antagonists.

Exogenous manganous ion at millimolar levels rescues all known dioxygen-sensitive phenotypes of yeast lacking CuZnSOD.

Yeasts lacking copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (sod1Delta) exhibit a broad range of phenotypes, many of which can be rescued by growth in the presence of high levels of ionic manganese. We undertook a comprehensive survey of the effects of manganese on wild-type and sod1Delta yeasts and found that 5 mM Mn2+ rescued all known growth-related phenotypes, such as slow growth in air, temperature sensitivity, specific amino acid auxotrophies, no growth in high oxygen, poor growth in nonfermentable carbon sources, and decreased stationary-phase survival. Iron-related phenotypes-elevated electron paramagnetic resonance detectable ("free") iron, decreased aconitase activity, and fragmenting vacuoles-as well as zinc sensitivity were also rescued.

Partial 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist activity by the 5-HT(2C) receptor antagonist SB 206,553 is revealed in rats spinalized as neonates.

Modification of spinal serotonergic receptors caudal to spinal injury occurs in rats that received spinal cord transections as neonates. Evaluation of the serotonin syndrome, a group of motor stereotypies elicited by serotonergic (5-HT) agents in 5-HT-depleted animals, and open field locomotor behavior were used to assess behavioral consequences of injury and treatment. We extend these findings to show that a partial 5-HT(1A) agonist activity is revealed by the 5-HT(2C) receptor antagonist (SB 206,553) in this animal model, as measured by evaluation of serotonin syndrome behavior.